Nothing Special
by HungryPaperweight
Summary: Garet's been having some self-esteem issues. A trip to Treasure Isle might be just what he needs. Some Steamshipping.
1. Water

_Lately I've been wondering if I'm really useful to the team. Back in the good old days, when it was just me, Isaac, Ivan and Mia, I was the only Mars Adept on the team. After we joined up with Felix's crew, though, that alone doesn't get me very far. Jenna's gotten really strong since we left Vale: her Dragon Fume's just about on par with my Liquifier, and my Guard and Protect Psynergies aren't very impressive compared to her Aura techniques. The only real advantage I have over her is that I'm stronger in physical combat, and we've already got enough warriors on the team._

_But it's not just combat and Psynergy I'm worried about. Everyone else has an interesting history, too. I mean, Isaac's dad and Felix and Jenna's parents were alive all these years, and then they fused into that three-headed dragon. Okay, so the Wise One did that, but still... And then there's Mia. She's from the same clan as Alex, who orchestrated the whole thing (just in case you're reading this, Mia, I'm not trying to blame you or anything). Sheba fell from the sky (and survived, how is that NOT impressive) and Piers is a freakin' Lemurian. And Ivan, man, where to begin? His sister is now the leader of Contigo and predicted years in advance that he'd help us save the world, not to mention he was raised by Master Hammet and entrusted with the Shaman's Rod. Even Kraden has something going for him. He was taken in by THE Babi at a young age and has spent most of his life studying Alchemy. Heck, he's probably the smartest person I've ever met._

_Compared to the others, I'm just...ordinary. I mean, sure, my grandpa's the mayor of Vale, but that's just pure luck on my part. It definitely didn't mean anything while we were out trying to stop Saturos and Alex and the others. In the end, there's really nothing special about me. I'm just plain old Garet._

_Garet, the one who thinks with his gut. Garet, the guy who eats "all the time." Garet, the butt of everyone's jokes. Garet, th_

"Hey Garet, are you," the door opened just enough for a girl to lean her head into the room, her blond hair cropped short enough that only single lock fell in front of her face, which she promptly blew away, "*pff* done writing in your diary yet?"

Garet looked up from his writing but didn't even bother turning to face his uninvited, though not unexpected, guest. "For the hundredth time, Sheba, it's a _journal_! There's a difference!"

"Suuure there is," the young wind Adept said as she walked into the room, only to beat a hasty retreat to dodge the object her teammate threw at her. "A pillow? Really?" Sheba hid in the hallway, keeping her eyes on the door. "What is this, a slumber party?"

"Gimme a break, it was the first thing I saw." Garet rose from his desk and looked around. The desk he was writing at was beneath the window, with the doorway on the opposite side of the room. The pillow had hit the doorframe and was now in the middle of the floor. He picked it up and tossed it onto the bed to his right. The bunk bed just barely fit in the room; the bottom bunk was neatly made, while the top one was a complete mess. _Ivan'll be on my case again if I don't make my bed,_ he thought as he left his room to face his intruder. "Besides, a Fireball on a ship would've been too dangerous."

Sheba just shrugged, "Fair enough." Then a grin spread across her face. "After all, we wouldn't want a repeat of what happened in Yampi Desert."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

She shrugged again, "Probably not."

Garet sighed, "What did you want, anyway?"

"Oh yeah!" Sheba clasped her hands together and started to turn around. "Get your stuff together and come up to the bridge, 'cause we're almost there." With that she dashed up the stairs to the upper deck. A moment later she came halfway down the stairs, "Oh, and Ivan wants Phaeton's Blade this time," and right back up again.

Garet went back into his room and put on his gloves, which were laying next to his journal. Growing suspicious of Sheba's ruses, he hid his journal under the pillow of his still-unmade bed. Garet's axe was leaning against the side of the closet, which was against the wall across from the bed. He hooked his axe to a strap hanging from his belt and opened the closet, easily spotting Ivan's sword, fully sheathed, amongst all the clothes.

Garet climbed the stairs, sword in hand, and turned to enter the main room of Piers' ship. Piers was looking out the lef-_port_ window - _He's a real stickler when it comes to nautical terms_ - while Mia was sitting on the bench reading a book - _Hasn't she read them all by now?_ The rest of his friends were grouped around the table, except for the two that were missing: Felix - _Probably steering the ship, as usual. Does that guy ever take a break?_ - and Jenna - _I thought it was Isaac's turn as lookout._ Isaac and Kraden were at the side of the table nearest the door outside, studying a map laid out on the table. Sheba and Ivan were on opposite sides of the table, with Sheba between the two Mercury Adepts and Ivan being the one closest to Garet. The fire Adept came up next to his roommate and handed him the blade. "Sheba tells me you're in a sword mood today."

"Not really," Ivan said, but he quickly tied the scabbard onto his belt. He then glared at Sheba, who was trying not to smile, "but I'm going to need it if _some_one doesn't give me my staff back."

Sheba looked away, "Well, my mace is getting blunt and Mia's staff doesn't have a special attack."

"I thought maces were supposed to be blunt." Even while he said this, Kraden kept his eyes trained on the map.

"They are," Piers said as he turned to face the group. "She's probably referring to the spikes. Where's Jenna?"

Garet leaned across the table to look at the map. "She's in the crow's nest, right?"

"No, I was." Isaac turned the map - much to Kraden's frustration, as he nearly lost his place - so Garet could get a better look. "I came down to make sure we're at the right island. Which, of course, would be a lot easier if it wasn't an _uncharted_ island."

"As far as I can tell, this is the place," Kraden said as he looked up and silently counted the number of people in the room. "Sheba, I thought you said you'd get Jenna, too. Where is she?"

Sheba shrugged. "Maybe she can't find her sword?"

"I'll go look for her," Mia said as she put her book down and reached for her staff.

"NO!!!" Everyone turned to look at Sheba, who's sudden outburst sparked everyone's curiosity. "I-I mean, y-you really seem into that story. I wouldn't want you to have to stop right when it's getting good."

Garet placed his palms on the table. "Where is she?" Throughout the trip Garet had said that Sheba and Jenna were planning something, but everyone had brushed him off. Until now.

"I-I don't know. Honest!" Sheba had raised her hands in defense and took a step back from the table.

She soon found herself held firmly by Piers, who had easily snuck up behind her. He then looked at Ivan and Isaac in turn. "I know we don't normally allow mind-reading on teammates, but…"

"Don't bother," Garet turned to go below decks again. "I think I know where she is."

Garet took the steps two at a time, and could hear the boards creaking under his weight. He entered his room and, sure enough, there was Jenna. She was half-leaning over Garet's bunk, with one foot on Ivan's bed and the other in the air. In her left hand was Garet's pillow, and in the right was his journal.

Jenna looked over her shoulder when she heard the door open. "GARET!" The girl lost her balance, letting go of the pillow to grab hold of the bed frame. "W-what are you doing here?"

Garet crossed his arms. "Well, this _is_ my room."

Jenna got down from the bunk bed and faced her friend, hiding her hands - and the journal - behind her back. "I meant, shouldn't you be upstairs?"

"I was. Why weren't you?" Garet knew the answer: Sheba was stalling so Jenna could find his journal. Still, he wanted to see what excuse she could come up with.

"W-well..." Jenna looked around the room, trying to find something to work with. Then she got an idea. She took a few steps towards the door, unable to escape until Garet moved out of the way. "I was just making your bed for you, since Ivan's so picky about neatness and you're, well...not."

Garet looked at the ceiling for a moment before responding. "Fine," he stepped back to let her pass, but just as she was about to leave he put his arm across the doorway, "but first give me back my dia-journal." Garet mentally kicked himself for that slip-up, because he knew what was going to happen next.

"Ah-ha!" Jenna ducked under Garet's arm and snuck past him. "So you _admit_ it's a diary!" She opened the book to a random page while running towards the stairs, with Garet close behind.

"N-no," Garet fumbled the words out, trying to salvage whatever piece of his reputation she was on the verge of ruining for him. "But Sheba calls it that all the time. I just goofed up. It happens." Garet scrambled up the stairs, but Jenna was already in the main room.

He could hear Jenna taunting him, no doubt in front of everyone. "Oh, Feizhi, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways..."

"You're making that up," Garet entered the room and was relieved to see that it was less crowded than when he left. Isaac, Piers, and Kraden were gone, as well as the map - _They must be helping Felix navigate._ Mia had gone back to reading her book, while Ivan was trying to keep Sheba and Jenna from meeting up - _At least someone's on my side._

"True," Jenna dodged Ivan's attempt to retrieve the journal and slid up next to Sheba, "but I _did_ read the part about the shopkeeper in Apojii."

"What? She's hot." Garet walked around the table, blocking the exit and leaving the two girls between him and Ivan. "Now give that back."

"You want it?" Sheba grabbed the book from Jenna's hands and climbed over the table, bypassing the boys entirely. "Come 'n get it."

Garet lunged at Sheba, who dodged right into Ivan's path. Not wanting to accept defeat so easily, she tossed the book over her fellow wind Adept's head. Jenna caught the journal mid-flight, but almost had to roll to avoid Ivan's reach. She headed towards the door outside but Garet stepped in the way, so instead she turned around and tossed it to Sheba. "Keep away!"

Mia, who was trying to read _The Rise and Fall of Ankohl_, looked up to see Jenna and Sheba tossing a book around the cabin while Garet and Ivan tried, and failed, to take the book from them. Mia just rolled her eyes and resumed her reading, wanting no part in their foolishness. Or at least that's what she hoped they would think, but she occasionally stole glances at the quartet, silently rooting for Garet. She actually had to hide a smile behind her book when Jenna nearly tripped over Ivan.

This "game" continued for several minutes, with the wind Adepts occasionally using their Psynergy to change the course of the book mid-flight. Eventually, Sheba found herself cornered by the boys again, so she tossed the book to Jenna, unaware that the door had just opened. A ghostly hand appeared in the air and caught the book just before Jenna could. Everyone (including Mia) turned and saw Felix standing in the doorway, his left hand outstretched and glowing slightly. The Psynergetic hand floated gently towards Felix, who grabbed the book with his right hand before dispelling the technique.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked, keeping a firm hold on the book.

Garet stepped towards the Venus Adept. "Thanks. That's mine." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder, "Sheba and your sis were trying to read it." He then held his hand out to take his journal back. "Can I have it back now?"

Felix looked at the book and raised an eyebrow. "Is this the diary I keep hearing about?"

Sheba and Jenna giggled, but Garet just ignored them. "Journal, actually. It's kinda private, of course." Hearing no objections, Felix returned the book to its rightful owner. Garet then held his free hand in front of him. A red glow appeared in his palm, which soon grew into a small creature. It was mostly red with a yellow underbelly and blue eyes, and almost resembled an armless kangaroo. It was a Mars Djinni, one of the elemental spirits.

"Fever, I want you to hide this in a place even I can't find." Garet handed his journal to the Djinni, who, lacking hands, used the same spell as Felix.

"Aye-aye, sir," the Djinni said before hopping to the floor.

As Scorch half-ran-half-hovered downstairs, Felix addressed the rest of the group. "We'll be stopping soon, so everyone come up on deck."

-*-*-*-

It turned out Felix was wrong. The island was surrounded by dense reefs, almost as if the island itself was trying to ward off potential treasure hunters. Even though the ship had been equipped with the ability to fly, the reefs reached too far up for the boat to safely Hover over, so the heroes had to find a sea-based route instead. Isaac and Garet both acted as lookouts, but even with the extra pair of eyes it took the crew half an hour (and some help from one of their summons, Procne) to chart a safe passage through the coral. They spent another fifteen minutes navigating the tricky passage, which took them halfway around the island. Even after passing the reefs they were unable to make landfall, as much of the island's "coast" was steep, rocky cliffs, reaching far higher than the reefs. Finally, Isaac spotted a small beach on the south side of the island, which they docked their ship at.

The island was relatively small, the most notable feature being the reefs that surrounded it. There were two mountains to the north, with forests fringing the east and west cliffs. A small plain between the woods acted as a path to the mountains. The heroes began climbing down the ladder built into the side of the ship, with Isaac and Garet still getting down from the crow's nest. The beach was made up of fine-grained sand, almost as white as snow. Waves lapped against the shore lazily, most of their impact being absorbed by the reefs. Likewise, the sharp cliffs on either side of the beach sheltered the crew from the wind. A few seagulls, which had accompanied the boat for the last few hours, were further down the coast scavenging for food.

Jenna, one of the first to climb off the boat, looked out to sea. "It's really nice here. Maybe we should come back for a vacation sometime."

Mia came up next to her. "It is beautiful, isn't it? I just hope civilization doesn't come and ruin a paradise like this."

"Don't forget why we came here," Felix said from farther inland. "Briggs' crew found a lot of treasure here, but they couldn't get all of it."

Kraden was sitting on a piece of driftwood that somehow made it past the maze of coral. "Still, what they did get brought Champa back from the brink of poverty. Hopefully the money we make from this trip will be enough to pay for the repairs to Vale."

_And the money we owe Vault for all the people that still have to stay in the inn,_ Garet thought as he touched down on the sand, with Isaac right behind.

"I just hope it doesn't turn out like our trip to that cave in the Yampi region last week." Felix went to meet his childhood friends, only realizing what he said when he saw the pained look on Garet's face. "I-I meant the money we made from that trip. Wasn't a lot, after all."

"Yeah, yeah." Garet walked past Felix and headed up the beach. He knew Felix was sincere, but even the slightest reminder... "I think I saw a cave where the mountains meet. That must be where the treasure is."

"Well then, let's get to work." Isaac motioned for the girls to come along, but had little success. While the others were discussing the mission, the girls, even Mia, had begun splashing around in the water.

"I'll get them," Piers said. "You guys just go check out that cave."

-*-*-*-

The walk to the cave only took a few minutes. Kraden opted to wait for the girls, so Isaac, Garet, Felix and Ivan peered into the cave and saw that it soon turned to the right. Having had plenty of experience exploring caves, the Adepts knew there would be less and less light the deeper in they went. While the four were searching for branches they could use as torches, their other companions caught up.

"Jenna and Sheba I can understand," Piers gave Mia a quizzical look, "but _you_?"

"W-well, water _is_ my element. I guess I just got...carried away." Mia kept her eyes on the ground, too embarrassed to look up. "Besides, they started it," she muttered.

Ivan walked up to the approaching group and gave each of the five a dead, but sturdy, branch. He stopped when he saw Kraden was out of breath. "Are you feeling alright? Maybe you should wait on the ship."

"Nonsense! I've been through hell and back traveling with you children. I won't let a little hike slow me down!" Kraden picked up his pace as he marched towards the cave, huffing and puffing the entire way.

Isaac, having overheard the conversation, caught the scholar at the cave entrance. "At least let me do this." Isaac held his hand out and cast Cure. Kraden felt his fatigue fade away, and thanked Isaac for his help. Garet then used Flare to light Kraden and Mia's torches, and the reunited party entered the cave.

The walls of the cave were damp with water of a curious consistency; it seemed almost like mucus, though nobody dared make such a comment. The air proved far more saturated than expected, and the torches flickered in the humid cave. Garet and Jenna both cast Flare, holding the Psynergetically maintained flames in their palms to further enhance the group's vision. The nine treasure hunters walked down a winding path until the cave branched in two directions. The left-hand path proved to be a dead end with a number of pre-opened treasure chests - _Guess this was the treasure Briggs found._

The right path opened into a large room filled with water, which reflected the light from the torches. As the water rippled incessantly, the light filled the room (allowing the Mars Adepts to cancel their spells) and appeared to dance along the walls. A conveniently large number of stones jutted out of the water, rising enough that the miniature waves only occasionally spilled over the edge. Some stones were large enough to act as platforms, evidenced by the treasure chests sitting on them. Most of the stones, though, were hardly big enough for a single person to stand on, although they would still serve well as stepping stones. Regardless of size, all were flat along the top and, oddly enough, some of them had patterns engraved on them.

Kraden leaned over to study one of the platforms. "Someone must have lived here once, a long time ago."

"Hopefully they don't anymore," Isaac said as he hopped across the stones, with his companions close behind, "otherwise we'll have to ask permission to take all the treasure."

Soon Kraden and Felix were the only two left at the entrance. They were about to follow, but the entire party froze in their tracks upon hearing a loud KA-THUNK, followed by a grinding noise, like stone rubbing against stone. They soon discovered the source of the noise, as several of the stone platforms rose out of the water. They didn't stop rising until they were at least eight feet high, about halfway to the ceiling. Kraden's first thought was that the platforms resembled icebergs, which are much larger beneath the water than they are above (or at least that's what he heard, as he's never actually seen one lifted out of the water).

Of course, Kraden was the only one enjoying the display of ancient mechanics, as several of the risen platforms were occupied. Ivan managed to keep his balance, but Sheba and Mia both fell off their platforms, landing in the water. The pool turned out to be much deeper than anyone had imagined, as the two Adepts disappeared under the surface. Almost instantly, shouts of "Mia!" and "Sheba!" echoed about the room, but everyone's fears were allayed when the girls surfaced.

No sooner had Sheba caught her breath than: "Garet, what did you do!?"

"It wasn't me!" As worried as he was a moment ago, Garet almost found himself wishing she had stayed underwater.

Fortunately, Piers spoke up before the two could argue any farther. "Actually, I think it was me." He lifted his foot out of a depression, which quickly rose until it was flush with the rest of the platform. "Looks like I tripped the same trap as the Champans."

"Don't worry," Felix began digging through his pockets, "I think I can Grind these back into place." He pulled out a small brown stone that fit perfectly in his hand. The stone began to glow as Felix prepared the Psynergy recorded in it by arts long forgotten. "It might make some waves, though, so everybody out of the pool."

Jenna helped Sheba out of the water, but before Mia was within reach of a platform she felt something brush against her leg. "Aahhh! What was that?"

"What was what?" Garet hopped around one of the raised pillars to help Mia out, only to see her vanish under the surface again. At this point, just about everyone shouted Mia's name. Everyone except Garet, who, out of sheer instinct, dove in after her.

As soon as he was under the surface, he saw Mia being dragged down by a Pyrodra, a three-headed serpent with pink scales and a blue underbelly. The Pyrodra had Mia's leg in its rightmost pair of jaws, with its central mouth free and the last biting down on a...stick? (Later, Garet would realize it was Mia's torch, which fell in the water with her.) The monster was slowly backpedaling towards the deepest part of the pool, which was too deep for Kraden's torchlight to penetrate.

Mia was beating the head that held her, but the Pyrodra's free head grabbed her staff and tried wrestling it from her. Keeping hold of her staff with one hand, Mia used the other to cast Glacier, which didn't have the desired effect. Normally water vapor would converge around the target, then a blast of frigid air would fly from the Adept and encase her target in ice. Since they were already underwater, though, ice began forming just in front of Mia, and quickly expanded to seal her casting hand in a sphere of ice.

Garet, meanwhile, due to his heavy armor, was sinking more than swimming. Mia and her assailant were out of range for Garet's axe, and he soon realized that his fire-based Psynergies were fairly useless underwater. Still, he used the only technique he thought was strong enough to not fizzle out by the time it reached the Pyrodra. Garet reached for his axe with one hand and with the other cast Heat Wave. A large bolt of fire shot out from just in front of him, leaving a trail of vaporized water in its wake that bubbled to the surface.

The stream of fire certainly grew smaller and weaker as it traveled towards the monster, but, since it was reinforced with Psynergy, it managed to reach its target before completely disappearing. The Pyrodra was more or less unharmed, but it still felt the attack and locked its middle pair of eyes with its attacker. Mia took advantage of the monster's distraction and smashed her ice-encased hand on the beast's head, shattering the ice and causing the Pyrodra to release its grip on Mia's staff. Another near-depleted Heat Wave graced the head that held Mia's leg, which released Mia when it decided the slowly sinking Mars Adept would make for easier - and meatier - prey.

_So far so good,_ Garet thought as he gripped his axe in both hands. Mia was swimming to the surface while the Pyrodra, after biting the torch into splinters, swam towards him, all six eyes focused on their new target. _Now I just have to stay alive until the others come up with something._ The Pyrodra rammed Garet with all three heads, and the Mars Adept saw bubbles rising to the surface. The salt water flowing down his throat told him it was his own breath he saw. _And not pass out._

Garet swung his axe at the monster, which gracefully dodged over the sinking warrior and came down behind him. The Pyrodra clamped down on Garet's left arm with its right head and turned the Adept around to see him face to faces. Garet's free arm drifted from his axe and began glowing red. _Maybe, now that it's closer..._ The monster's left-hand head lunged for Garet's other arm, only to receive a Heat Wave at point-blank range. Though they also specialize in fire-based attacks, Pyrodras are still Mercury beasts; the monster shrieked from all three mouths and released its grip to swim away from its opponent, the attacked head singed black on one side.

Garet was having a hard time without air, and his vision was getting blurry. Soon, though, he noticed a burning sensation where he was bitten. Checking the wound, he noticed a green liquid floating around his arm. It didn't take him long to realize what it was:

_Poison!_

Garet returned his gaze to the beast responsible, but it had already moved. The water then lit up with an ethereal blue glow, and Garet turned as best he could to see what it was. He could vaguely make out two shapes near the surface, one the Pyrodra and the other much larger, before the venom and the lack of oxygen caught up with him and he passed out.

-*-*-*-

Darkness.

That's all Garet could see. He looked around, but everything was black. When he tried to move, it felt like his entire body was bound. As he tried to move, to see, to _think_, something caught his eye. A lone figure stood illuminated in the dark, a girl whose image had grown all too familiar over the past few days.

"Sheba?" Garet mouthed the words, but no sound came out. Still, he knew she could hear him. "Where are we? Where are the others? What's going on?"

Sheba seemed to look straight through him, as though he wasn't even there. "You really are stupid, aren't you?" Just the tone of her voice, let alone the content, chilled Garet to the bone. He knew Sheba liked to tease her friends sometimes, but she was never outright cruel.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"_That's_ what I'm talking about! You never think. You only act."

Garet's mind raced back to the Pyrodra. "I had to do _something!_ Mia could have died! I know it wasn't very smart, but if I didn't-"

"Just forget it." Sheba had turned and began walking away. "You're so insensitive." She stopped mid-step and spun around. "Have you ever once considered someone's feelings before opening your big fat mouth!?"

Now Garet was stumped. "Okay, seriously, what are you-"

"I said just forget it!" Sheba fought back a tear, but Garet knew she was upset about something. She turned away again, but didn't go anywhere. "Just...just go back to your big old family. At least you know..." Then, as if a fog was rolling in, Sheba began to fade away.

"SHEBA!" Garet rushed towards the vanishing girl, breaking whatever invisible bonds had been holding him back. He reached out to grab his friend, but what was left of her disappeared like a puff of smoke.

He didn't have time to mourn his lost friend, though, as he heard another familiar voice, a light soprano that pierced the darkness:

"--me o-, --eas-, -on- -ie. P---se, G--et, --ke up!"

-*-*-*-

"Come on, please, don't die. Please, Garet, wake up!"

Mia leaned over Garet's unconscious body, her arms glowing as she concentrated on her spell. A small fairy, the manifestation of the ancient healing art Ply, flew back and forth across the nearly-drowned fire Adept, sprinkling him with Psynergy particles that were absorbed by his body. The two were outside the cave, with their weapons leaning against a dead tree. From the branches hung most of their clothes, drying in the sunlight. Both were still wearing their undershirts, with Garet in his boxers and Mia wearing white stockings. Her hair, normally tied back in a ponytail, now resembled a waterfall as it fell down her shoulders and brushed against her comrade's skin. One of her turquoise locks happened to tickle Garet's nose, bringing him back to the world of the waking. The waterlogged warrior began coughing up water, which startled the healer out of her spell.

"Garet! Are you all right?" Mia lifted him into a sitting position, which helped his lungs clear out faster. His hair, which normally stood straight up for reasons even he didn't understand, was now limply hanging down, sticking to his skin. Mia brushed his hair away from his face, which was still slightly pale.

Garet took an couple uneasy breaths before speaking. "Mia? What happened?"

The Imilian breathed a sigh of relief. "You jumped into the water to save me from a monster." Mia looked down, a slight blush growing on her cheeks. "O-of course, I was worried, since water isn't really your element, s-so I summoned Neptune to bring you back to the surface."

"So that's what I saw." Garet looked around, and noticed the two of them were alone. "Where are the others?"

"Oh, they went back inside once they were sure you were alive." Mia glanced back at the cave, her face growing redder by the minute. "I stayed here to fix you up." Garet saw faint white marks on his arm, the only indication that he was ever bitten. "I'm glad I did, because it took me a while to realize you were poisoned. F-for a moment there, I was worried you w-weren't going to make it." If he had looked, Garet might have noticed tears welling up in the Mercury Adept's eyes. "Y-you weren't waking up, and..."

"Well, I'm fine now." Garet stood up, then remembered something from the battle. "Wait, what about your leg? You were bitten too, weren't you?"

"Ah!" Mia's face was almost a deep crimson now. She glanced down, and Garet followed her gaze to her stockings, which now sported a series of holes outlining where the Pyrodra bit her. The area around the holes was slightly bloodstained, but the skin underneath didn't appear to be punctured - _Guess she healed herself already._ "I-I wasn't poisoned, s-so don't worry about me."

"Are you sure? Your face is really red." Garet put his hand on Mia's forehead. She wasn't hot, but her face grew even redder (if that was possible). "You've been stuttering a lot, too. Maybe you should head back to the ship and get some rest."

"N-n-no, I-I'm just fine. B-besides," Mia stood up and looked her friend in the eyes, "I haven't p-properly thanked you f-for rescuing me."

"Meh, it was nothing special." Garet walked over to the tree to see if his clothes were dry yet. "I'm sure someone else would have if I hadn't." He picked up one of his boots - _What's the point in drying clothes if you don't pour the water out?_ - and tipped it over so the water would drain. "Besides, I got my butt kicked. Not all that praise-worthy."

"B-but still, you risked your life to save mine. Just like back at Jupiter Lighthouse."

"Oh yeah. I nearly forgot about that." Garet looked up and noticed that the fingers of his gloves were rather...full. "Of course, both then and now you wound up saving me after I tried to help you." Sure enough, there was still plenty of water in his gloves. As he poured the water out, he turned to face Mia. "If you think about it, _I'm_ the one who should be thanking _you._"

"Oh, n-n-no." Mia's face had nearly regained its normal color, but quickly reddened again. "I-I'm a healer. I've sworn to help people everywhere. Th-there's no reason to thank me."

"If you insist," Garet shrugged and turned back to his clothes, "but thanks anyway."

The two stood in silence for a few minutes. Garet was taking inventory of his still-soaked clothing - _I probably shouldn't touch Mia's_ - while his Mercurian friend was mentally arguing with her Djinn companions.

_You should ask him out._

"_No way! W-were just friends. That's all!"_

_Yeah right! It's obvious you like him._

_Totally!_

"_Y-you stay out of this, Balm! Fizz, tell them they're imagining things."_

_Actually, I'm with them on this one._

"_B-but…"_

_C'mon, it's easy. Three simple words: "I. Love. You." Just say it._

"NO!"

"Huh?" Garet turned to look at Mia, who had accidentally shouted her denial out loud. At the moment, Garet happened to be holding Mia's robe. "I was just moving it to a different branch."

"Oh, n-n-no," Mia half-stretched her arm out, as if that would help put either of them at ease. "It's not you, it's-"

Garet hung her robe back up. "Djinn?"

"Y-yes." Mia withdrew her hand, holding both close to her chest and staring at the ground. "Mostly Spritz and Tonic. They were... Never mind. It's personal."

"M'kay." Garet picked up his axe and turned it around in his hand, worried it might start rusting. Then, seemingly at random, he asked a question that had been nagging him ever since he woke up. "Hey, Mia? Do you think Sheba hates me?"

"W-what!?" Mia's head snapped straight up. She certainly wasn't expecting that question, although it made sense: Sheba had been taunting Garet a lot since the Yampi incident, which didn't end well for her. Or anyone, for that matter, but Sheba especially had a rough time when Garet... _Wait, what if he..._

_Sounds like you've got competition._

"Shut up, Hail." Mia muttered under her breath. Then, to Garet, she said, "I don't think Sheba hates anyone. Why do you think she would?"

Garet just stared at his reflection in the axe. "I saw her in a dream, just after the Pyrodra attack. She seemed really mad at me. I know it was just a dream, but..." He looked up, spotting a cloud that reminded him of a Vermin for some reason. "I think she said that I 'don't think before opening my big fat mouth.' She also said something about my family, but that's about when I woke up, so I didn't catch all of it."

"Oh, Garet." Mia walked up to her companion and put a hand on his shoulder. "It... I'm sure it doesn't mean anything." Garet turned his head to look at Mia, but didn't have a chance to respond.

"Awww, how cuuute."

Both Adepts turned to see Sheba emerging from the cave. She was holding a near-extinguished torch in one hand, and in the other was a sack slung over her shoulder. The others followed close behind, each carrying similar sacks - _At least they found the treasure_ - and Ivan carrying another torch in the same condition as Sheba's. Piers came up to the Jupiter Adepts and cast Douse to extinguish their torches. Jenna held a Flare spell in her free hand, which she cancelled as she emerged from the cave.

Sheba walked up to the half-dressed Adepts, tossing her dead torch on the ground. "Were you two about to make out?"

"W-what!?" Garet dropped his axe, which luckily enough didn't land on his foot. "No! What makes you say that?" Mia, of course, lit up brighter than Rudolf's nose, drawing her hands up to cover her face, too embarrassed to say anything.

Sheba just sported a mischievous grin. "Oh, come _on_. You two just _had_ to be having a good time while we were gone." She then turned to look at the Adepts still emerging from the cave. "Besides that, it's not _nearly_ as much fun as it used to be to tease Jenna about Isaac."

"Sh-Sheba!" This time it was Jenna who blushed, though luckily for her Isaac was just out of earshot. "Y-you promised you'd stop that!"

"Sorry. It just sorta came up." Sheba trekked past Garet and Mia. She made a brief comment on Garet's hair and gave a wink to the Mercury Adept, which of course just made her blush all the more.

Felix walked up to the duo. "Well, we found a lot of treasure, but there's still more of the cave left to explore. Think you guys are ready to get back in the action?"

"I'm fine, but I'll need to get some dry clothes from my cabin." Garet pointed his thumb towards Mia, "I think she might be coming down with something, though."

"N-n-n-n-no, I-I-I'm fine, I j-just…" Mia didn't want to slow her friends down, but at the same time she was worried they might need her help. "Can I have a moment alone first?"

Felix shrugged. "Sure, I guess. We need to load this stuff into the ship anyway."

Garet gathered his and Mia's clothes and followed Felix and the others back to the boat. He looked back long enough to notice Mia summon a couple of her Djinn. He thought about asking what they were talking about, but decided against it. _I didn't want Jenna and Sheba reading out of my journal. Mia probably doesn't want us to know what her Djinn were saying._

-*-*-*-

Author's notes:

Alternate title: Mia the Red-faced Adept.

Well, this is my first story/submission. Maybe it's awesome, maybe it sucks, but I'll never know unless you tell me what you think. Constructive criticism only, please; even if you think it's the worst thing ever, you can still be polite about it.

You should know, though, that this is only the first of four chapters. I suppose just this one chapter could serve as a decent story all on its own, but we haven't even gotten to the main event yet! In fact, when I first pictured this story, most of this chapter didn't exist. I guess I just got carried away, but I think the story's better this way.

I was actually working on the story over Christmas break, so the next two chapters are already written out. Still, I want to hear what you guys have to say, plus I don't want to upload the whole thing at once, so chapter two won't come until at least a week from now.

Until next time!

~The world's hungriest paperweight

Note: The last paragraph sounded a bit akward, plus I noticed I said "Mia" instead of "Sheba", so I tweaked it a bit.


	2. Wind

Garet was dried and fully dressed now, with his hair back to its normal, unusually spiky self. The team had to wait for Mia to catch up, though, as her "moment alone" turned into a full-blown falling out with her Djinn (and that was _before_ waiting for her to get dressed). The gang gathered some extra torches while waiting, and after she caught up they returned to the cave and passed through the room where Garet battled the Pyrodra. There were two exits on the other side of the room, and Kraden told the two that the paths eventually met. "We went in one door and wound up coming out the other." The group entered the northern passage and found themselves in a hallway similar to the one at the cave entrance. Ivan muttered something about fighting a Mimic while lost in here, and eventually they found the staircase leading to a lower level of the cave.

"This is as far as we got last time," Isaac explained as they descended, torch in hand. "Don't know what's down here, so be on guard."

"At least we won't have to worry about another Mimic." Ivan said. "There's never more than one in the same cave."

Sheba slid up next to her fellow Jupiter Adept. "Y'never know. There's a first time for everything." Ivan shuddered as she said this.

"Go easy on him, Sheba," Felix stepped between the two as soon they reached the lower level, another natural hall. "That ended about as well for him as that Yampi incident did for you."

"Hey, at least what happened to _him_ was because of a monster," the girl glared at Garet, who was already glaring back, "and _not_ because of a so-called teammate!"

"Hey, I _said_ I was sorry!" The Mars Adept held his arms out in a sign of exasperation, nearly knocking the torch out of Isaac's hand. "Besides, it was an _accident!_ Get off my back!"

"Boulders!" Everyone turned and saw what Jenna was talking about. The path branched in two, and she and Piers each stood in front of a different path. Both were blocked by boulders, but the route to the right appeared to be the clearer of the two.

The Lemurian faced his fellow spelunkers. "Think I can 'Lift' them?"

"Or _should_ you?" Kraden walked up to get a closer look, taking Felix's torch in the process. "One false move and we could be dealing with a complete cave-in."

"Don't worry about that." Isaac was glowing slightly, with his eyes closed and his free hand against the wall. "The cave is pretty sturdy. These boulders aren't supporting anything. They're just obstacles." At that he stopped glowing, blinking a couple of times as his eyes readjusted to the darkness.

Piers proceeded to lift the rocks with his Psynergy, placing them to the side so they wouldn't block their way when leaving. Garet, meanwhile, stared at Isaac for a moment before feeling guilty for his jealousy. _That's something else I'll have to add to my dia- Dang it, Sheba!_ He sighed, quietly enough that only Mia cared enough to notice. _Still, Venus Adepts can sense things about the earth, just like Jupiter can sense the wind and Mercury can sense water. But fires, well...those don't normally pop up much, and even when they do there isn't much to detect._

_Except in Yampi._

_Shut up, Fugue. He gets enough of that from Sheba._

"_Thanks, Forge."_

_Anytime. By the way, Piers is done._

As if on cue, Mia stepped up to the now-cleared passage, with the others nowhere in sight and the torchlight quickly dimming as they traveled down the corridor. She looked at Garet and innocently asked, "Are you coming?"

"Y-yeah!" Garet cast Flare to brighten the cave, and quickly fell in step behind the Mercury Adept. He didn't want her to think he was a complete space-case, so he quickly said "Djinn." He figured that one word would be enough to explain himself, especially considering her recent argument with her own partners. Mia just nodded her understanding, and the two quickly caught up with the others.

The nine emerged into a larger room. The air was cool, but not stiflingly humid like much of the rest of the cave. This room had no water, though. Instead, many raised ledges were scattered about the room, with sides too high and too slick to climb unaided. A path leading further into the cave could be seen to the right, but they came for treasure and those ledges were the perfect hiding places. The group split into teams of two (three, in Kraden's case), with either a Mars Adept or a torch-wielder on each team.

_See, Garet? You're still helpful._

"_Yeah, but _only _because of my fire Psynergy. I still don't have anything outstanding that sets me apart from the rest of the team."_

"Hey, umm, Garet?" The spiky-haired Adept had been paired with Mia, ironically enough. Though not unexpected, as they were the last two into the room and the team had long-ago agreed to partner with their opposite elements whenever possible.

Garet turned to face the Imilian healer. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Umm, w-well, there's...something..." Mia looked at the ground, the blush returning to her cheeks, "th-that I want to...that I _need_ to..."

"Ladder!" This time the moment had been ruined by Jenna, who had found a stone ladder built into the side of one of the platforms. In reality they were little more than depressions in the stone face, but they were uniform enough, both in shape and spacing, that they couldn't be natural. The team soon regrouped at Jenna's location, with her and Piers already at the top, surveying the room. Some of the platforms were close enough to jump to, but others were simply too far away.

"We'll need some rope up here," Piers said. Kraden began busily pulling out several yards of rope - _How does he carry all that? Well, I guess it's not exactly heavy_ - while Ivan climbed halfway up the ladder. The elder handed the rope to the wind Adept, who, once atop the platform, worked with Piers to create tightrope bridges. First Ivan used Lash to tie one end of the rope to a rocky outcropping on another platform, after which Piers would secure the other end to the nearest platform they could reach, with Jenna cutting off the excess rope for later use. While this trio created several potential walkways, the rest of the team climbed up the ladder and prepared to explore.

Garet chose to check the easternmost platforms - _At least I _think_ this is east. Kinda hard to tell when you're underground._ After inching his way across the tightrope, Garet found a lone treasure chest tucked away between the wall and a few small boulders that had fallen from the ceiling. He half-knelt and poked the treasure chest with his axe, muscles tense from one-too-many Mimic ambushes, not to mention what Sheba said earlier. The chest didn't move, so he inched forward and flipped the lid up.

"Found something!" Garet reached into the chest and pulled out a sword. It didn't look much different than your average longsword, but as soon as the Adept touched it he could sense an incredible power laying dormant within. "W-whoa! That's just...wow!"

"Does that one have a cool Unleash?" Jenna was at the next platform over, and hopped the short gap to get a closer look at the weapon.

Garet just stood slack-jawed for a moment, until his Djinn managed to snap him out of his reverie. "Um, y-yeah, I think. I mean, I've never felt anything quite _this_ strong before."

"Let me see," Jenna reached out to touch the blade, but as soon as she did - "YAH!" - she recoiled. "Oookay. _That_ was something."

"Think this one might be a match for the Sol Blade?" Isaac had just joined the two, with Piers and Felix on the next platform over. He put one hand on Garet's shoulder and the other on his weapon, and the two pooled their Psynergy to compare the blades.

After the two stopped glowing, Garet took a close look at the blade. "Definitely not," he gave it a few practice swings, "but it's stronger than what I've got right now." He strapped the sword in the place his axe was hanging from earlier. "I think I'm gonna keep it."

"In that case, we're selling the axe." Felix turned to check on the others, and just in time to Catch a flying wind Adept.

-*-*-*-

_A few minutes ago..._

Mia, Ivan, and Sheba were exploring the side of the cave opposite Garet, with Kraden on the ground floor providing light for the trio, being careful not to accidentally ignite the ropes. Ivan began walking across the tightrope, occasionally using his wind Psynergy to keep himself from falling off. Meanwhile, Mia and Sheba had a moment to talk.

"Hey, Sheba... You don't hate Garet, do you?"

"Huh?" The young girl was a bit taken back at the comment. "No, not really. I just like teasing him, that's all." She glanced across the room, where he and Jenna were also crossing to the far platforms. "I used to do the same thing to Jenna before we teamed up. I guess Mars Adepts are just easy to fluster."

"I-I see." Ivan had reached the other side of the room, so now Mia began her crossing. Lacking the wind manipulation of the other two, she would have to rely on her teammates' help if she lost her balance.

Unfortunately, Sheba wasn't thinking of that at the moment. "You like him, dont'cha?" Mia nearly fell when she heard this, but Sheba realized her mistake in time to create a Whirlwind beneath the Mercury Adept, keeping her airborne long enough to regain her balance. "Sorry! L-let's talk about this later, eh?"

After about a minute of careful balancing, and a few close saves from her companions, Mia finally made it across. Sheba then got on the rope to join them, while Ivan tugged on Mia's sleeve. He mouthed the words "be quiet" and led her to a small crevice in the wall, where a sleeping figure could be seen. Its entire body was purple, although the lower half was a more royal shade while the head and feet were much lighter in color. The head tapered back into three wing-like appendages, which worked in concert with its Psynergetic abilities to keep it airborne - while awake. It was another Djinni, this one of the Jupiter element.

"YAH!" Ivan and Mia turned when they heard Jenna, but seeing no monsters they returned their attention to the sleeping Djinni. The elemental spirit moved a bit, disturbed by the Mars Adept's shout, and subconsciously stirred up a small cross breeze before drifting back to sleep. Ivan just smiled while Mia let out a silent "aww," but the peace would not last long.

Sheba made it across the tightrope much faster than Mia did, and wanted to find out why her friends were looking at the wall. As soon as she caught a glimpse of the Djinni, she muscled herself between the two and lifted the creature from its stone bed. "Oooh, aren't you just so cuuute!"

At this point the Djinni was fully awake, and quite startled at being picked up by a complete stranger, Adept or not. As a self-defense maneuver, the Djinni whipped up a powerful gust directed at what it thought was its captor. The wind was strong enough to lift Sheba off the ground, who let go of the Djinni as she flew across the room. Fortunately, Felix turned around at this time and caught her with his spell.

We now return to our regularly-scheduled fanfic.

"What was that?" Garet leaped from platform to platform, heading to where Mia and Ivan stood. He already had his new weapon out, eager to test its abilities. Felix put Sheba down on the lower floor, and he and Piers quickly jumped down to check on her. Kraden also huffed his way to the windblown girl, while Isaac and Jenna followed Garet.

Ivan pointed at the one responsible for Sheba's sudden trip, which now flew in circles above their heads. "She scared a sleeping Djinni. Jupiter."

Isaac looked for the Djinni, but was barely able to keep track of it as it frantically flew about the room. "And now we're probably going to have to fight it. Typical."

"Allow me." Garet raised one hand and prepared a Psynergy attack, but Ivan grabbed hold of his arm.

"Hold on! It was probably a mistake! We should at least try to reason wi-ack!" Ivan let go just in time to dodge a Plasma spell from the Djinni. While the warriors had been arguing, the Djinni had finally got its bearings.

_Okayokay, so: we got a bunch of humans, mostly Adepts, some of each element. At least it's not monsters this time, but how'd they find me? Hey, what's that feeli-Mars Psynergy!!! Don't hurt me! In fact, this is your fault, not mine. Take this! Plasma!!!_

After dodging the attack, Garet resumed his spell. "See, it's a fighter, just like the rest of 'em. Inferno!" Several dozen fireballs flew from Garet's hand. Although they traveled in several directions, they all converged on the Djinni. In response, the Jupiter being used the same technique it used on Sheba.

One might expect such a strong wind to extinguish the fires. Unfortunately, our heroes weren't that lucky, as the balls of fire were actually _reflected_ by the wind and now traveled towards the five Adepts.

Although caught somewhat off guard, the heroes managed to counter the counterattack. Shouts of "Granite! Flash! Tornado! Flare Storm! Ice Missile!" echoed throughout the room. Two more Djinn, Flash and Granite, appeared next to Garet and Isaac, respectively, and raised semi-transparent barriers around the five Adepts, able to negate most of any damage they might actually take. Jenna shot out raw, short-ranged flames, which formed a small wall and blocked a few of the fireballs. A pair of whirlwinds appeared in front of Ivan, which caught several more fireballs and safely dissipated them.

Mia's spell, which created a multitude of icicles above her head, flew out and impacted the rest of the fireballs. The resulting clash of fire and ice filled the room with steam, obscuring everyone's vision. In most cases, the fireballs and icicles negated each other, and any flames that got through were absorbed by the elemental barriers created by the Adepts' Djinn. A few of Mia's icicles also got through, but hit the ceiling rather than the Jupiter Djinni. One in particular hit a crack in an already unstable stalactite, which began to shake as its foundation weakened further.

Sheba conjured a whirlwind of her own to dissipate the steam, just in time for the team to see the stalactite fall, cutting one of the ropes. "Nice one, Garet!"

"NOT! MY! FAULT!!!"

"Uh, guys?" Jenna noticed the Jupiter Djinni glowing. "A little _focus_, here?"

"I'm on it." Felix aimed his arm at the ceiling above the Djinni. "Stone Spire!" More stalactites loosened and fell, this time due to Psynergy rather than physics. The Djinni felt the disturbance soon enough to cancel its Psynergy. It managed to deftly avoided each stalactite, and didn't appear to be breaking a sweat - _I wonder if Djinn even _can_ sweat._ Isaac began using the same technique, increasing the frequency with which the stalactites fell. Despite this, the Djinni managed to dodge them all, although there were a few near misses.

Sheba aimed her staff at the airborne Djinni. "Lemme try. Storm Ray!" Electricity could be seen running from her hands and through her staff to its tip.

"I'm with ya. Searing Beam!" Jenna cupped her hands in front of her. A small ball of Mars energy accumulated in her hands.

The two girls released their attacks almost simultaneously. A bolt of lightning blasted from the end of Sheba's staff and arced towards the Jupiter Djinni. The recoil from the blast, combined with the slickness of the floor, shoved her into Felix, who stumbled out of his casting and in turn knocked Kraden over, causing _him_ to drop his torch, which landed flame-first into a small pool of water. Jenna suffered similar effects from her attack. As a beam of concentrated flame traveled straight towards the Djinni, Jenna found herself almost falling off the edge. Fortunately, Ivan and Mia managed to catch her, one at each arm. Isaac, distracted by his concern for his friend, cancelled his Psynergy to help them lift her up.

As for the Jupiter Djinni, it could sense both attacks as they were being prepared. When they were launched, it momentarily negated the unconscious Psynergy that kept it aloft. While the Djinni plummeted to the ground (a rather scary experience for it, partly due to its element and partly to its small size, which made a twelve-foot drop feel about four to five times as long as it would to a human), the two attacks collided not only with each other but also with the stalactite that was about to fall on the Djinni. The resulting mass of Psynergy created an explosion that flooded the room with light and sent many small pieces of stony shrapnel flying in all directions. The noise from the attacks also scared many Sea Hedgehogs out of their hiding places, although they were smart enough to _flee_ from the attack rather than add to the heroes' troubles.

As the light from the Psynergetic clash faded, the group realized just how dark the cave had grown. The only light in the room came from Isaac's torch, as well as the faint glow given off by the Djinn. Jenna and Garet both cast Flare to increase the light, but, as both were still near Isaac, the concentration of light cast eerily large shadows across the room, particularly behind the already-large platforms. Sheba remedied this problem by taking out her spare torch and casting a weakened Ray: a spark of lightning arced from her open palm to the top of the stick, igniting the torch and adding at least a little more light to the room.

"Great," Garet leaped off the platform, "you killed it." Flash soon landed on the Mars Adept, who weaved his way through the rubble the two Venus Adepts had created.

Piers climbed over a fallen stalactite, moving closer to where the Djinni had fallen. "I'm pretty sure Djinn can't be killed. Besi-whoa!" The Mercurian warrior ducked just in time to dodge a shockwave of condensed air. The Jupiter Djinni had cast Slash, and was now flying about the room again.

"It's too fast," Jenna ran a hand through her hair, "how are we going to stop it?"

"Umm, Ground. Duh!" Those still on the platform with Isaac turned to see Granite, who had fallen off Isaac's shoulder during the chaos.

"Oh. Right." Isaac held out his hand and shouted the Djinni's name. Ground, a Venus Djinni like Granite, appeared from his palm and created half a dozen spheres of earth energy. These spheres quickly homed in on the Jupiter Djinni, who dodged them quite easily. It then prepared another spell, for once unaware that Ground's attack had changed direction and was about to strike. The six energy balls struck the flying Djinni in quick succession, shocking it out of its Psynergy. The true effect of the attack, though, was to magnify the effects of gravity on the target. The Djinni soon found itself falling to earth, this time unable to control its descent, completely terrifying it.

Piers and Garet were the first to reach the Djinni, who was using all of its Psynergy to try and lift itself off the ground. For a moment, the Djinni managed to hover an inch into the air, only to fall back to earth, completely exhausted. The effects of Ground were actually visible, as a small field of energy could be seen around the Djinni. Flash jumped off Garet's shoulder and hopped over to the Jupiter Djinni.

Soon the rest of the team caught up, and Garet turned to face the group. "Flash is talking to it. Just give them a moment."

"Yeah," Sheba rolled her eyes, "because Mars is the element of diplomacy."

"Hey, from what I understand, this whole mess is _your_ fault!"

"_My_ fault!? _You_ nearly incinerated half the team!!!"

"How was _I_ supposed to know it could reflect the attack? Besides, what does that have to do with-"

"That's enough, both of you!" Kraden had stepped between Garet and Sheba, holding his extinguished torch as though it was still lit. "I must say, you two have been at each others throats ever since that Yampi incident."

Garet let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "You just had to bring that up, didn't you."

"Well, it's true," Isaac was now beside the scholar, and lowered Kraden's "torch"-wielding arm. "Besides, that's not the point. We're supposed to be a team, which means we can't keep fighting each other."

"Don't look at me," the wind Adept raised her hands in defense, then pointed her free hand at Garet. "_He's_ the one who keeps attacking his teammates."

"Those were _accidents!!!_" The flame in Garet's hands intensified, reflecting his emotions.

Isaac raised two Psynergy hands, one in front of each Adept, although he nearly dropped his torch in the process. "I didn't mean literally 'fight.' Look," he dispelled the hands and turned to his co-leader, an uncharacteristically mischievous grin spreading across his face, "Felix and I have actually been talking about this, and we think we have a solution."

Now Felix stepped forward, holding a torch Jenna must have lit for him (and meant to replace the one Kraden stole earlier). "Basically, we don't go any further until you two work out your differences."

Collective cries of "WHAT!?!?" echoed throughout the room (except from the Venus Adepts, of course, and Kraden, who had overheard their plan earlier) but Felix just held his free hand up to silence the group.

"You two can do this in private, if you want. Either way, I'll be acting as a mediator, since most everyone else might be too biased towards one of you." Felix just barely glanced at Garet as he said this.

Sheba just crossed her arms, being careful not to set herself on fire, and squinted at Felix. "Yeah, and what makes you think you _won't_ be biased?"

"Oh, it probably has something to do with Venus Lighthouse." Jenna didn't hesitate to tease her former tormentor, even if her older brother had to suffer as well. "It _was_ pretty romantic, after all, the way he leaped off the aerie to try and save you."

Both of the Adepts in question started blushing, with Sheba acting much like Mia did above-ground. "Th-that wasn't... I mean... It wasn't my... H-he just... _Jenna!_" The red-head just giggled as she turned away, walking over to Ivan and Piers, who were on the lookout for monsters. Mia was off to the side, speaking to a Mercury Djinni sitting on her palm.

"Aaanyway," Isaac handed his torch to Ivan and reached for Sheba's, "why don't you three go somewhere else. The rest of us will stay here."

-*-*-*-

Garet, Sheba, and Felix walked into the hall-like portion they traveled through earlier. Both Felix's torch and Garet's spell provided the trio with light, but Garet cancelled his spell to conserve his Psynergy. Felix stood in the doorway, blocking their only route back to the team. If anyone had looked past him, they would have noticed Mia's Djinni spying on them. Of course, Felix was facing Sheba and Garet, who mostly just glared at each other.

Ultimately, it was up to Felix to break the silence: "Look, we're not going to get anywhere, in more ways than one, if you two don't talk this out. So start talking."

Sheba turned away from the earth Adept and crossed her arms. "You make this sound like an interrogation."

"I can make it one, if I need to." He looked at Garet. "But I'd rather you two work this out on your own, if possible."

Garet looked at the ceiling, "Jeez, where to begin?" After a moment, he focused his gaze on Sheba. "Might as well get it out of the way. Sheba, do you hate me?"

"Wha?" Sheba spun to face him, a little shocked to hear him ask that. _Wait, why does that question sound... Oh yeah! Mia asked the same thing!_ "No, I don't _hate_ you. You just keep doing stupid things."

"_Stupid!?_" Garet took a half-step forward, which seemed like quite a bit in the narrow hallway. This was the first time Sheba had said anything like this, but it sounded familiar for some reason. Still, Garet tried his best to stay calm. "Okay, if I'm so 'stupid,' uhh... N-name three times!" Sheba opened her mouth, but Garet cut her off: "Besides just now and the Yampi incident!"

Sheba scowled for a moment before raising her hand and counting Garet's mishaps on her fingers. Slowly, for dramatic effect. "One, you ate all that _wax_ fruit when we stopped by Tolbi. Two, you jumped off Jupiter Lighthouse to try and save Mia." Felix coughed, but Sheba just continued, "And three, just earlier today, you jumped into a pool of water _with_ all that armor on."

"Hey, we went over that already! I had to do something, or Mia could've died!"

The wind Adept looked at Garet like he was crazy (which she may have already thought, for all anyone else knew). "Umm, no we didn't."

"Wait, we didn't?" Garet was a bit dumbfounded. _I'm _sure_ we talked about that earlier. Didn't we?_

"Anyway, I wasn't done yet. Four, you walked in on the girl's spa in Champa." Sheba shuddered at that memory, but otherwise continued unabated, "Five, your accidental 'kiss' with Jenna; boy, was _she_ mad. Six, when we were in Kibombo..." Sheba had to switch to counting on her other hand now, but Garet wasn't even paying attention anymore.

"_She said jumping into the water was stupid, and I told her why I did it. I just _know_ I did! I think I even admitted it was a stupid idea."_

_Actually, I think you just imagined you did._

"_No, I _KNOW _I-"_

_I think Ember meant you _dreamed_ it._

"_What? Oh, right! That dream..."_

_Exactly! It started when she said that you're really stupid. That's something I've never heard her say to _any_one. Not until now, anyway._

Sheba, of course, was enjoying her increasingly long list of Garet's various acts of foolishness: "ended in _complete_ disaster, won't even go into detail on that one. Ten, you nearly caused a cave-in at Garoh; it took all the diplomacy we could muster to keep them from killing you. Eleven, there was that time you tried fighting a Fire Bird single-hand... Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?" Garet snapped out of his near-trancelike state. "Oh, sorry. Ember was telling me something."

"Well, try paying more attention to the real world," Sheba puffed. "You asked me to prove how stupid you can be, but what's the point if you don't listen?"

"Look, I know I do some stupid things from time to time, but sometimes I have to. Like earlier, when Mia got dragged underwater. Or that thing you mentioned with the Fire Bird: I was holding it off so you guys could keep moving."

"Oh yeah? Then what about the wax fruit and the hot springs?"

"Those were _accidents!_ I didn't know that food wasn't real. And in case you forgot, I _fell_ into the hot springs. Champa _is_ built into the cliffs, after all."

Sheba crossed her arms, glaring at the Mars Adept "And just what were you doing up there, hm? Spying on us?"

"Actually, I can explain that." The duo looked at Felix. "A bunch of the Djinn had gotten lost in the fortress. While you girls were down in the springs, the rest of us were looking for them. Garet and I were looking for them outside, and Garet lost his balance."

Sheba looked away, pouting slightly. Garet did feel bad about that incident, but couldn't think of any way to try and cheer Sheba up. An awkward silence followed, and Felix finally had to get the conversation going again.

"Sooo, I think we know why Sheba's upset. But what about you Garet?"

"Me? What do you mean?"

"Well, why is it you keep fighting with Sheba?"

"Umm..." Garet looked at the Jupiter Adept, who turned to face away from the others. "Well, I don't _want_ to fight. She just keeps bringing up all the little mistakes I make. And it really grinds on my nerves when people remember me for my failures instead of my accomplishments."

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere." Felix looked from Garet to Sheba, who still refused to look at either of them. "Your turn, Sheba. Why do you keep focusing on Garet's flaws?" A long silence followed. "Sheba?"

The wind Adept was leaning against the wall now, her eyes closed. "...I'm not talking to you."

"Okaaay...?" Felix looked at Garet, who just shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if you won't talk to me, then talk to Garet." Sheba just shook her head. "Why not?"

"Y'know," Garet walked towards Felix, "it looks like you two have problems of your own, so I'll just *oof*." The fire Adept had tried squeezing past his Venusian friend, who only shoved him back.

"Nobody goes anywhere until this is sorted out." Felix walked over to Sheba, half-dragging Garet to make sure he didn't try to escape. "Look, Sheba, if I said or did anything to offend you, I'm sorry." He let go of Garet's sleeve and put his hand on Sheba's shoulder, but she just batted it away.

"Don't. Touch. Me." Sheba's words dripped with acid, made even eerier considering she was usually the cheeriest member of the group. Garet recognized the tone in her voice, though - _It's just like in my dream._

_I thought it was Jupiter Adepts who had prophecies._

_Not now, Scorch._

Felix moved around his friend to look her in the eyes. "Sheba, what's wrong?"

Sheba grimaced, then erupted into a fount of emotion and movement. "What's _wrong_ is that you _say_ you're not going to take sides and then you do! _And_ you admit that you were there when Garet fell. H-how do I know you _both_ weren't spying on us?" Tears began streaming down the side of Sheba's face, and she paced up and down the hallway, forcing the two boys to keep their distance from the door. "An-and then you, you *sob* try to act like you want me to *sniff* feel better, and, and..." Sheba was now halfway between the doorway and the two warriors. At the moment she was walking away from them, but suddenly twirled around, nearly whacking her hands on the cavern walls. "...have you ever once considered someone's feelings before opening your big fat mouth!?"

Ember: _That was in your dream, too._

Felix: "Sheba, I didn't mean it like that. I just-"

Garet: _Yeah, but what came after that?_

Sheba: "Do you even *hic* think before you act!?"

Scorch: _That was in there too! I remember that part!_

Forge: _No, I think it was more like..._

Felix: "Look, I'm trying to apologize..."

Garet: _Guys, _focus! _Didn't she say something about my-_

Sheba: "J-just...just leave me alone!!!"

Garet: "That's it!"

Sheba was about to leave, but stopped when she heard Garet. "Wh...what? What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, where'd that come from?" Felix stood right next to Garet, completely perplexed.

"I think I know what this is all about now." Garet walked up to the emotional wreck formerly known as Sheba. "This is about what I said about your family, isn't it?"

Sheba just stood speechless for a moment. "...Waitwhat?"

"Back in Atteka, just after we teamed up. You said that the entire reason you came with Felix was 'cause you thought you could find out where you came from."

"Y-yeah, I remember that." Sheba wiped some of the tears from her face. "S-*sniff*-so?"

"Well, I said some things back then that I probably shouldn't have. Like how I wouldn't have really cared much if I was in your shoes." Garet rubbed the back of his neck, too ashamed to look the girl in the eyes. "So, umm...I'm sorry. For being so insensitive."

Another awkward silence followed, broken only by the flicker of the torch and the occasional shuffling of feet. After wiping away the last of her tears, she finally spoke up: "Don't apologize. Please."

"Wha? Really?" Garet was a bit stunned. "B-but, isn't that why you've been harassing me all this time?"

"No, no." Sheba turned away from the two boys. "I was just teasing you and, well...I guess I just got carried awa- Is that a Mercury Djinni?"

Garet and Felix looked past the wind Adept, and Garet cast Flare to brighten the hallway. Just inside the next room was Mia's Djinni, Sleet. It was hiding behind a rock by the doorway, but it's crabclaw-like tail could be seen sticking out to the side. The tail stiffened when Sleet realized it had been spotted, so it peeked above the rock and saw all three Adepts staring at it.

"Umm, hi?" Sleet hopped out from behind the rock, rubbing the back of its head with its tail. "I, uh, was just, umm... Buh-bye!" With that, Sleet turned around and ran back to Mia.

Felix sighed, "I'll go check this out. You two done here, or-?"

"A-actually," Sheba turned to look at the Mars Adept, "there's something I kinda wanted to talk to Garet about, in private."

"Alright," Felix shrugged, then walked past the two. "Be right back."

A brief silence accompanied Felix's absence. The light from Garet's spell lit up the duo's faces while casting their shadows to either end of the hallway. Finally, Garet spoke: "Sooo..."

"Ah, r-right." Sheba brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Earlier, you said that you, uh, were sorry for being insensitive, about what you said back at Atteka. But, really, I wanted to thank you for that."

Garet raised a hand in front of him. "Wait, thank me for apologizing, or for what I said in Atteka."

"Well, both, I guess, but I meant what you said about my family."

"You're..._glad_ I said that?"

Sheba rubbed her arm, looking at the floor. "Well, I wasn't back then, of course. But then Kraden had something to add. I started thinking about it, and, well..." She then raised her head, looking at the way the shadows danced across the ceiling. "Let's face it: I don't know anything about my _birth_ family. For all I know, they could be completely crazy or sadistic. Or maybe they abandoned me because they didn't even want me in the first place. I certainly hope neither is the case, but...maybe I'm better off not knowing." Garet noticed more tears welling up in her eyes. He wanted to comfort her, but before he said anything, she continued: "Th-there was something else you said that day, you know."

"Umm... What was it, again?"

Sheba giggled for a moment, for reasons Garet didn't quite understand. Then she looked him in the eyes, wiping a tear with her sleeve. "You *sniff* said that Faran raised me like I was his own daughter. A-and you realized that I was afraid, b-because I could ever be his _real_ daughter. Later, I realized what a fool I was being. Faran _does_ think of me as family, whether we're blood-related or not. I...I probably never would have realized that if it wasn't for what you said that day, so...thank you."

"Eh, you're...welcome?" Garet wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he was glad to know he was able to help her. _I think..._

"C'mon," Sheba turned to leave, grabbing Garet's sleeve and dragging him along, "let's get back to camp."

-*-*-*-

Author's comments:

Somebody mentioned that this looks more like a Garet x Sheba fic, even though I labeled it as Garet x Mia. This chapter doesn't exactly help, does it? Don't worry, the next chapter should clear up any confusion.

Honestly, though, I don't view this as a romantic fic, and I'm not usually a romance fan in the first place. In fact, much of this chapter and most of the next and previous chapters weren't in my original plan for the fic. This story was going to be a way for me to practice fight scenes, but the plot kinda got away from me. That actually happens to me a lot, but I generally don't keep those changes unless, like I said last chapter, I think it's better that way.

At any rate, the people I've heard from seem to like the story, so you can expect to hear more from me soon. In addition to the rest of this story, of course.

Oh yeah, and that one part was _supposed_ to be left in script format.


	3. Earth

Sheba and Garet walked into the room where they had battled the Jupiter Djinni. They saw a bright glow on the other side of the platform just in front of them. Rounding the corner, they saw the rest of the group sitting around what appeared to be a poor excuse for a campfire: three torches had been wedged into the ground, with some small pieces of the fallen stalactites arranged to keep them in place. Some of the other fallen rocks remained relatively intact, and were being used as chairs or benches, and in Kraden's case a (relatively uncomfortable) bed. Piers sat next to him, talking to the elderly scholar about Lemuria. Jenna and Ivan were on the other side of the "campfire," each holding a Djinni of their element (Flash and the once-sleeping Djinni, respectively).

Isaac and Felix were talking to Mia, who was blushing madly and held Sleet in her lap. "I was just...w-worried. What with, you know, the m-monster attack earlier, a-and..."

"I'm sure the three of us could handle ourselves." Felix looked from Mia to the Djinni and back, not sure which he should be mad at, if either. "Besides, if you were that worried, you could have just come along."

"I-I know, I j-just..." Mia fell quiet as she saw Garet and Sheba walk around the platform, and for a moment she thought they were holding hands. _Great, now my eyes are playing tricks on me._

"Garet! You're back!" Flash jumped out of Jenna's arms and nearly tackled his Adept partner, dispelling his Flame-torch.

"*Oof* Heh, it's good to see you too, Flash." Garet picked up the Djinni, who began glowing a bright red and vanished inside the warrior.

Although she'd long since dried her tears off, Sheba had to take a deep breath to keep her voice from cracking. She walked up to where Ivan and Jenna were sitting and crouched to look the Jupiter Djinni in the eyes. "You feeling better now?"

"E-eep!" The Djinni flew out of Ivan's arms and hid behind him. Either Sheba leaned in a little too close or the Djinni recognized her as the one who woke it up in the first place. Either way, it was almost shaking with fear.

"Hmph." Sheba puffed her cheeks out in frustration, then sat down on a stalactite that, oddly enough, was lodged straight into the ground. "That Djinni sure seems more fond of you than me, that's for sure."

"First of all, its name is Gale." Ivan reached behind himself to pet the Djinni. "And don't forget, you _did_ give him quite a scare earlier."

"Oh, come on. That was an accident."

"Now you know how _I_ feel." Garet began walking to where the Venus Adepts were talking to Mia, but Sheba held her arm out to stop him.

"Do _not_ get me started on that list again."

"How about _neither_ of you start again." Felix stood up and walked towards the group of fire and wind Adepts. "When you two got back, I thought that meant you came to an understanding."

"Right, right. I'm sorry." Sheba gave Garet a sideways glance, then turned to Felix. "Besides, I was only joking."

"Well, you need to stop. It's getting out of hand."

"Okay, I'll try." Sheba grabbed one of the torches and lifted it out of the ground as she rose, knocking the other two over in the process. "Oops!"

Piers sighed and picked one of the torches up. "At least they didn't land in water this time."

Isaac grabbed the last torch and stood, addressing the team at large: "Well, _hope_fully that's settled. Let's get moving." After some shuffling, Mia reabsorbing Sleet, and a few complaints from Kraden (both because he had to get up _and_ because he had such an uncomfortable bed), the team walked through the only other exit from the room, which had to lead further into the cave.

As the team walked down another damp passageway, they quickly fell into casual conversation. Isaac and Felix were in the front, discussing battle strategies and where they might go next if the money earned from this trip still wasn't enough. Garet walked shortly behind, lost in thought; or at least, that's what it seemed to everyone else, but in reality he was mentally talking with his Djinn. Mia and Jenna were close behind him, talking about things the guys would probably consider "girl talk." Taking up the rear was Kraden and Piers, continuing their earlier discussion. Between them and the other girls was Ivan and Sheba, with Gale riding on Ivan's shoulder.

The shoulder opposite Sheba, of course. "I'm not _that_ scary. Am I?"

Ivan chuckled. "Well, everyone's scared of something, even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else."

"B-but..." Sheba turned around and walked backwards, looking Ivan in the face. "I'm the spunky, lovable one. It's just weird for anyone to be scared of me."

"Spunky, eh?" Ivan laughed again. "From what I've seen, you typically clam up around strangers."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were with us the first time we visited Garoh or Shaman."

"Yeah, Kraden told me about how you chewed out Moapa." Ivan pointed past Sheba, showing her that she was about to run into a wall. "Besides, this seems fair to me." Ivan turned the corner, but Sheba quickly caught up. "Lull chose you over me, so I get Gale."

"But, but... *sigh* Fine, whatever." Sheba picked up her pace to join the other girls, and noticed that the team had come to a crossroad.

Felix looked down the left-hand path, and motioned for Piers to come and provide some light. "I guess my team can take this branch." The Venus Adepts typically used their pre-Atteka teams whenever they had to split up.

Isaac walked up to the right-hand path, "And we'll take the other one."

"Umm, guys?" The group turned to look at Sheba, who was looking at Isaac's team. "There's something I kinda wanted to talk to Mia about."

Piers handed his torch to Felix, who returned his attention to the cave. "Can it wait until we're back on the ship?"

"A-actually," Mia said, "I want to speak with Sheba, too."

The Venus Adepts met between the diverging paths. "Do you want to take Mia this time?" Isaac asked.

"That would put Piers on your team, making me the only real 'warrior.' Besides," Felix leaned closer, lowering his voice, "Sheba's been known to make 'pimp jokes' on occasion, so I wouldn't want all three girls with me."

"Heard that!" The duo looked at Sheba, who was smiling not-so-innocently.

"Riiight," Isaac stretched his neck, and heard a satisfying *pop*. "I guess we'll take Sheba then. Ivan, you're going with Felix's team this time. What about you, Kraden?"

"One step ahead of you!" Kraden's voice came from down the passage Felix had chosen. Nobody had seen him leave, but he hadn't gone so far down the path that he was out of sight. "Piers and I were in the middle of a rather riveting discussion, and I wouldn't want it to end cold."

-*-*-*-

Isaac's torch flickered and dimmed as it reached the end of its life. Garet took out his torch and lit it, handing it to Isaac in exchange for the nearly-dead one.

"Thanks." Garet just gave a confirmative nod before returning to his thoughts. Isaac gave his childhood friend a worried look. "You've been awfully quiet this trip. Something up?"

"No. I just..." He didn't bother finishing his sentence, which only increased Isaac's concern.

"Just what?"

"Well..." Garet ran his free hand along the cave wall. Small streams of steam rose from the rock, a telltale sign that he was giving off some Psynergy. "Do you think I'm actually useful to the team?"

"Huh? Where'd this come from?" Now Isaac was really worried. _Garet's not the type to doubt himself, or even think heavily about what he does._

Garet lifted his hand from the wall and rubbed his fingers together. _Yup. Not wet._ "I didn't really start thinking about it until what happened in Yampi."

"Look, we all know that was an acci-"

"It's more than that, though." Garet was looking his friend in the eyes now, but had to break his gaze when they came to another bend. "I mean, Jenna's just about as good at Mars Psynergy as I am, and her healing moves make her more flexible than me."

"But you're stronger in physical combat."

"_But_ between you, Felix, and Piers, we really don't need any more warriors." Garet noticed that the flame on his torch was about to reach his hand, so he cast Flare and burnt the entire stick. The two fires quickly cancelled each other, and the ashes fell through his fingers in a fine dust. "I'm really only helpful when we split up, like now. Even then, though - Sheba mentioned this earlier - I tend to do some…" Garet grimaced to admit it, "pretty stupid things, even if I don't mean to. Sometimes, like earlier today and at Yampi, I wind up putting the team at risk. Lately I've been wondering if maybe the team would be better off without me."

"Okay, now that's just crazy." Isaac stopped walking and grabbed his friend by the shoulder. "Sure, you can be a bit...unlucky, at times. But there are also a lot of times you wind up saving our hides. Like back at Mars Lighthouse, when that Fire Bird ambushed us."

"I nearly got myself incinerated."

"We all might have been cooked if you hadn't stayed behind."

"Yeah, sorry for saying that was stupid of you." The boys looked behind them when they heard Sheba's voice. Both she and Mia were just standing there. "Umm, is there any other reason we stopped?"

"Oh. Right." Isaac turned and resumed his walk, with the others returning to their relative positions. The Venus Adept continued his discussion with Garet. "There's also that time we snuck into Dodonpa's fortress."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I remember that." The dark passageways of Lunpa Fortress had allowed the team to use their then-new Cloak Psynergy to sneak past the guards unnoticed. They were able to share the Psynergy by locking their hands together. At one point, though, Mia's hand slipped, making her visible for a moment. One of the guards noticed, but fortunately he was the only guard in the room. Garet managed to knock him out, but not before the guard called for help. Fortunately, Garet had an idea...

-*-*-*-

_Several months ago..._

"This isn't going to work..." Ivan wasn't the only one skeptical of Garet's plan, but he _was_ the only one to admit it.

The unconscious guard had been propped up in a chair, with a bunch of barrels stacked up next to it. The four Adepts were hiding behind the barrels, once again concealed by the Cloak Psynergy. Garet was the one closest to the guard, and could see the stairway leading to the next floor up. Voices and footsteps could be heard echoing down the stairs.

"We don't have time for another plan," Garet said in a half-whisper. "They're almost here."

As if on cue, three men walked down the stairs and into the room. They were dressed just like the rest of the guards in the fortress, except that these three wore red bandanas rather than the usual green. The three criminals looked around the room, then one addressed the unconscious guard. "Hey, you awake?"

Garet inched closer, still cloaked, making sure the unconscious guard was between him and the other three guards. "Yeah, I *ahem*" Garet tried lowering his voice, hoping they wouldn't notice that the guard was out cold. "I'm wide awake. Just tired from standing so long."

Another of the red-bandanas stepped forward. "Are you okay? Your voice sounds weird."

"Oh, yeah. I think I'm catching a cold. *cough, cough*" While Garet tried to fool the guards, Mia was silently praying that his "ventriloquism" would work.

The first red-bandana spoke again. "Didn't you say there was an intruder?"

"Uh, no, I..." Garet turned to look at his teammates, who just shrugged. "I, umm, I said that there's, uh…"

_Try "recruiter."_ one of Garet's Djinn suggested.

"I said 'recruiter!' " Garet could tell that the red-bandanas were getting suspicious, but he managed to figure out what to say next. "One of the new guys came asking me a bunch of questions. He was really getting on my nerves, so I yelled at him: 'Why don't you go ask one of the recruiters!' I guess I was louder than I thought, if you guys heard me."

The red-bandanas looked at each other, then the first said, "Okay, where'd he go?"

"Uh, to the lower levels, I think." Garet heard a faint noise behind him, and turned to see Ivan holding back a sneeze. _Gotta wrap this up quick!_ "I, uh, I've got everything taken care of down here, so you guys can head back on up to your posts."

One of the red-bandanas, who hadn't spoken until now, leaned towards the other two. Garet could barely hear him saying, "Something fishy's going on here."

"Maybe so," the first red-bandana said, then motioned towards the unconscious guard Garet was using as a dummy, "but he's got a point. We gotta get back to our spot. If there are intruders, they'll have to go through our post sooner or later."

The three guards went back up the stairs, with the last taking a quick look back before leaving. After waiting a few more seconds, the four Adepts dispelled their Psynergy and breathed a collective sigh of relief as they climbed out of their hiding place.

"That was _too_ close," Ivan said as he rubbed his nose. "Eh...Ah-CHOO!"

"Bless you." Mia handed him a handkerchief. "I think Ivan was right, though. That wasn't a very good plan."

"Maybe so, but at least it worked." Garet said. "Besides, at least now we know we're going to be seeing those guys again."

Isaac shook his head. "That's not necessarily a good thing. Now they suspect we're in here, which means they'll be on guard." Isaac's eyes grew wide, and he pointed at the unconscious guard. "Uh, Garet?"

"What?" Garet, being closest to the guard, turned to look. The guard was stirring, and began to slump over.

"Hmm, wha?" The guard opened his eyes, but Garet whacked him across the back of the head with the hilt of his blade. "AH! Unh, zzzzz..." And with that, the guard lost consciousness again.

Isaac motioned for the others to follow. "Come on, let's move."

-*-*-*-

_Moments before Garet's flashback:_

Sheba and Mia kept pace a short distance behind Isaac and Garet, led by the light from Sheba's torch. Both secretly hoped Garet wouldn't hear them, so they spoke in relatively hushed tones.

Mia fussed with a strand of her hair. Something had been bugging her for some time now and, even though she didn't want to, she knew she had to ask Sheba about it. Even so... "S-so, you wanted to ask me something?" ...she somehow managed to completely avoid the unavoidable.

Sheba tilted her head as she looked at the healer. "And _you_ wanted to ask _me_ something, too. So what is it?"

"Umm, w-well... , so...yeah..."

The Laliveran was a bit dumbstruck at the speed of the Imilian's language, but managed to regain her composure. "I...actually followed that." Mia blushed, which only served to encourage Sheba. "Well, you know what they say: age before beauty!"

"Wh-what!?" Mia's face reddened further, though this time there was a bit of anger mixed with her embarrassment. "What is _that_ supposed to mean? I'm still beautiful!"

Sheba raised her free hand in defense. "Sorry! Sorry! That came out _totally_ wrong!" She then returned her attention to the path in front of her, noticing steam rising from the wall where Garet touched it. "Let me make up for it by going first. And I'll get straight to the point, too." Sheba looked at Mia again. "You like Garet, don't you." _Hehe, I told you we'd talk about it later._

"Uhh... W-well, I... I mean, I..." Mia's face was now about as red as the flame Sheba carried. "W-well, maybe, a little. B-butonlyasafriend!"

"Reeeaally?" Sheba raised her eyebrow, hardly convinced.

"Yeah. I-I mean, sure, sometimes we... N-no, that makes it sound like we..." Mia looked at the floor and sighed in defeat. "I honestly don't know anymore."

"Hey, cheer up!" Sheba swung her non-torch arm around the older girl, giving her a half-hug. "I'll bet you two would make a great couple."

"I don't think…" Mia looked at the well-tanned blond. "Really?"

"Sure! You just gotta be brave! Tell him how you feel."

Mia looked away from her friend and started rubbing her arm nervously. "I... I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Aw, c'mon. Why not?"

"Well, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." Mia didn't want to ask, but she knew she had to. "Umm... I was sorta wondering if...well..." Mia lowered her voice even further, so that even Sheba could hardly hear her, "i-if you're in love with Garet."

"Oh!" Sheba let go of the nervous healer, a little embarrassed herself now. "I see why you didn't want to ask. Wait, is that why you sent your little Djinni to spy on us?"

"Wha- Well... M-maybe... Oh!" Mia grabbed the Wind Adept's arm in time to keep them from running into the boys, who had stopped walking.

"...a lot of times you wind up saving our hides." Isaac appeared to be giving Garet a pep talk, about what Mia couldn't tell. "Like back at Mars Lighthouse, when that Fire Bird ambushed us." Mia noticed Sheba acting nervous, like she was guilty of something.

Garet just gave the Venus Adept a detached look. "I nearly got myself incinerated."

"We all might have been cooked if you hadn't stayed behind."

Sheba took a step forward and spoke. "Yeah, sorry for saying that was stupid of you." The boys looked at the girls, a bit surprised to see them standing there. "Umm, is there any other reason we stopped?"

"Oh. Right." Isaac resumed his trek, with Garet by his side. Mia and Sheba waited a moment before following.

Sheba inspected her staff, noticing a few scratches. _I really hope those were there _before_ I took this from Ivan._ "Where were we, agai- Oh yeah!" She returned her attention to Mia. "You don't have to worry about me and Garet. He's really not my type."

"Really?" Mia brushed some hair behind her ear. "You're not just saying that?"

"Nah! Garet's a nice guy and all, but a bit too reckless for me." Sheba noticed her torch running low, so she handed it to Mia. "Besides, I don't think _he'd_ appreciate it if I started flirting with him."

Mia pulled a torch out of her cloak and lit it on the dying torch. "Who's 'he?' Not Garet, I'd assume. Faran, then?"

She handed the new torch to Sheba, who blushed slightly. "Uh, n-not exactly."

"Let me guess, then." A small cloud appeared over Mia's torch as she cast Douse. "Another reason you're not interested in Garet is because you already have someone else in mind." As the rain fell and put out the torch, Mia noticed Sheba had suddenly grown quiet. The Laliveran had fallen a step behind, and was trying to hide her reddening face behind the flame. Mia turned and put the now-dead torch away in her cloak. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I just..." Sheba closed her eyes for a moment, then burst past Mia. "C'mon, we're falling behind!"

-*-*-*-

"Okay, so maybe I'm not _completely_ worthless." Garet cast Flare a few times, just to see how long it would last in the humid cave. "Still, I wonder if it's enough to balance out all the times I screw up."

"Don't worry so much. We managed to make it this far without many serious mishaps, so I'm sure we'll be just fine." Isaac turned to check up on the girls, and noticed they fell quite a ways back. Sheba was quickly catching up, though, and Mia was just a few paces behind. "Slow down a bit, Garet. The girls need to catch up."

"Great, so now I can't even walk right."

"I'm just as much to blame as you are."

Isaac and Garet had slowed to a near stop, but Sheba just barreled past them, almost knocking them over. Soon Mia caught up to the boys and stopped to rest. "I *huff* think I said something to upset her."

"That's a relief." Garet ran his hand through his hair. "For a moment, I thought you were being attacked."

Mia could hear one of her Djinn speaking. _Aww, see. He _does_ care about you._

"_N-not now, Spritz!"_

"Uh, guys?" The trio heard Sheba calling from up ahead. They turned the next corner and saw her standing in a small room. Just in front of her was a large pile of boulders that rose to the ceiling. The rocks blocked off what could have been another passage, if not the rest of the room.

Isaac came up next to her. "Well, _that's_ not good."

Garet looked to his right and saw another door. "This way's not blocked."

At that point, a muffled voice could be heard: "Do you guys hear something?"

"No, nothing." Another voice, which seemed to come from inside the pile of rocks.

The four Adepts looked at each other for a moment, then Mia walked up to the rocks and ran her hand across the stone. Then, in a loud voice, she called: "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

A third voice answered this time. "Wait, I think I heard it too."

"I'd recognize that voice anywhere." Isaac walked up to the wall of fallen rocks. "Felix? Is that you?"

"Isaac!" Felix's voice could be heard, a little clearer this time. "Where are you guys?"

"A small room. Might as well just be another turn in the cave. We were just about to move on. What about you?"

"We're at a dead end. I don't think we can remove this rubble safely, so we'll loop around and catch up."

"Should we wait for you guys?"

"Only if you think you need to."

"There's no telling what we'll be up against next. We'll wait." Isaac turned to the rest of his group. "Well, get comfortable. This might take a few minutes."

While waiting for Felix's group to catch up, Isaac and Garet took up guard duty at the two exits, and Mia and Sheba sat near the pile of rocks. Mia looked through her batch of healing herbs, but finally felt a need to speak with the still-nervous wind Adept.

"So, umm... Did I say anything that offended you? If I did, I certainly didn't mean to..."

"No, no," Sheba stared into the flame of her torch, uncertain what to say. "I just... I guess I never really though about, y'know, _boys_ that much before."

Mia sighed, and looked towards Garet, who was playing with his Flame spell again. "You _do_ like Garet, don't you?"

"No, no. It's not Garet, it's..." Sheba motioned for Mia to lean closer. She whispered into the Imilian's ear, and both pulled away blushing.

"Oh! I-I see. Well, I guess he _is_ more your 'type,' isn't he."

"P-please, don't tell anyone! I-I want to be the one that tells him, a-and..."

Mia patted the distressed Laliveran on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul." Sheba sighed, but found her gaze being raised by the Mercury Adept. "Just don't tell anyone about me and..." she glanced around the room quickly, "y'know."

"Fair enough." After another moment, Sheba leaned forward and added, "Besides, even if it wasn't for _him_, I probably wouldn't be interested in Garet. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time around _that_ much fire after what happened in Yampi."

"I heard that!" Garet turned to look at the girls.

"Relax," Sheba now spoke loud enough for the boys to hear, "I was thinking about that demon-thing we fought in the bottom of the cave."

"Oh, yeah..." Garet rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. "J-just don't keep bringing up...y'know..."

"Only so long as you don't pull a stunt like that again."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault. And besides, last time I checked sand isn't _supposed_ to be flammable!"

Sheba giggled. "Tell that to the desert, not me."

-*-*-*-

After regrouping, the nine heroes passed through the low doorway into the next room. This room was incredibly dark, so much so that even with four torches _and_ two Flares they could barely see the other side. Fortunately, they had enough light to see that the floor soon came up to a sharp cliff, which extended so far down that the bottom couldn't be seen. Another platform, larger than the one they were on, could be seen on the other side of the room.

Kraden pointed to one of several pillars on the platform across the chasm. "I think those might be torches."

"One way to find out." Garet lifted his free hand, aiming at the far platform. "Fire!" Four fireballs shot from his hands, each one striking the top of a different pillar. The flames stayed lit atop the pillars, helping the team see the other platform much clearer. They soon wished they couldn't.

The opposing platform had two levels, connected by a small staircase. The pillars were on either side of the staircase, two on the top level and two on the bottom. At the head of the stairs was a humanoid figure. The figure wore a robe made of a dark blue material with yellow trim and star designs printed all across. Aside from glowing yellow eyes, the figure's face was hidden under a pointed hat that matched the robe perfectly. Between the robe and hat the figure's gender was indistinguishable. The only actually visible body part was the figure's hands, which were a deathly white. The figure held a mysterious sphere in its left hand - perhaps "held" is the wrong word, as the sphere floated in the air above the figure's open palm. The sphere was a light blue in color, almost matching the figure's hands, and had odd gray lines encircling it.

The figure spoke in a voice as androgynous as its body: "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Everyone was a bit shocked, either at the commanding presence of the figure or simply the fact that the island wasn't uninhabited like they though. Finally, though, Isaac choked down the lump in his throat and answered. "Uh, *ahem*. M-my name's Isaac, and these are my friends," Isaac motioned towards each member of the party as he introduced them, then returned his attention to the figure. "We came here seeking treasure, hoping we could sell it and use the money to rebuild our hometown, which was destroyed recently. Of course, we _thought _the island was uninhabited. May I ask who you are?"

The figure walked down the staircase, its robe flowing behind it like a stream. "I am the guardian of water." Garet and Sheba both opened their mouths to retort, but the figure cut them off. "But if it is an actual _name _you seek, the last group I met called me the Star Magician. As for your quest, there is only one treasure I care for."

"Guys?" Ivan was clearly nervous about something. "I have a _bad_ feeling about this."

"Wait," Felix stepped forward, being careful not to come too close to the edge. "You said you're 'the guardian of water,' didn't you?" He looked at Isaac rather than waiting for an answer. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

Garet scratched his head. "It does?"

Isaac nodded. "Yeah. That demon we met in the Yampi Cave called itself 'the guardian of fire.' Think there's a connection?"

"So you've met Valukar." Everyone returned their attention to the Star Magician, who had reached the bottom of the staircase. "And survived, no less. Impressive." Star Magician's ball began to glow, brimming with Psynergy. "Very well. If you would claim my power, you must prove your worth." Even as it spoke, it dissolved into a flurry of Psynergy particles of varying colors: yellow, green, red, blue, purple. These particles flew down into the depths of the chasm.

"Teleport." Kraden peered over the edge. "I wonder how he expects us to follow."

Jenna glared at the old man. "What makes you so sure this 'Star Magician' is ma- Ack!" Jenna was right to be shocked, as the party soon began breaking apart in the same manner the Star Magician did. Soon no trace of the group remained, save for the torches left behind.

Although they had already acquired the Teleport spell, this teleportation was cast by the Star Magician, leaving the young Adepts unable to control its course. A rain of sparks - the heroes in "Teleport form" - flew down the chasm, which gradually widened. Before long they reached the bottom and reformed, finding themselves in a circular room about as large as the main plaza of Vale. Many stone lanterns lined the walls, and a few shallow pools of water - the deepest of which wouldn't even come up to a person's ankle - reflected the light into even the most remote of shadows. On the floor, along the north end of the room, was a stone engraving depicting a serpent curled into a crescent shape. Atop the engraving was a stone tablet, and before the tablet was the Star Magician.

Ivan rubbed his head. "Could you at least _warn_ us next time? Or better yet, ask permission first."

Kraden was checking his pulse, making sure he hadn't just died. Then the gravity of the situation hit him, and he took a few steps towards Star Magician. "Uh... P-perhaps I should mention that I'm a scholar, not a warrior."

"Very well." The Star Magician's ball glowed again, and the ground beneath Kraden began to rise. The elder lost his balance, and fell to his knees to keep from falling over. He soon found himself on a disk of rock, long enough across to lay down on, floating about ten feet off the ground and drifting towards the side of the room.

The ball began glowing again, and four more balls appeared around Star Magician. They were essentially identical to the one it carried in its hand, except for their colors: purple, red, yellow-green, and blue.

Garet chuckled, then turned to Jenna. "Yup. He's male, all right."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because, he's got ba-"

"Don't you _dare_ finish that sentence!!!" Sheba cut him off, giving him a look that could make even a demon flinch.

The four colored balls - _Hehe, the narrator said "balls."_ - (Shut up, Garet). The four colored _spheres_ moved forward slightly, and the Star Magician spoke. "Now, show me the power that defeated Valukar, guardian of Daedalus. _En garde!_"

-*-*-*-

Author's comments:

First of all, I'd like to thank my younger brother for coming up with the word "recruiter" for the flashback. I was trying to think of a word that sounds like "intruder," but couldn't think of anything besides "computer," which hardly works in this setting. When he suggested "recruiter," I realized that was the perfect word, as I'm sure you noticed.

There wasn't much action in this chapter, but the next chapter should more than make up for it. Still, this stuff was necessary to tie up loose ends and advance the plot. As for who Sheba's got her eyes on...well, it really doesn't matter, so it can be whoever you want it to be. Except Garet, of course. And what exactly happened in Yampi, anyways? I'll tell you...once Draco tells us what happened in Lalivero.

.net/s/4329146/1/Mia_in_Ponyland

Apologizing in advance: I might not get the last chapter up as quickly as the rest. I already had the first three chapters mostly done when I put the first one up, but I haven't had much time since then to work on the next chapter. Don't worry, I'll get it done. I'm just not sure _when_.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to have a word with Garet about interrupting me while I'm narrating.


	4. Fire

Disclaimer: The author does not assume to know the gender of the character known as "Star Magician." However, the author also does not wish to refer to Star Magician as "it," and so will use male pronouns when referring to Star Magician.

"Besides, he's got 'balls.' " (Shut up, Garet! We talked about this _last_ chapter!)

*Ahem* And now, back to the story...

-*-*-*-

"Show me the power that defeated Valukar, guardian of Daedalus. _En garde!_" At that word, the red ball rushed ahead of the rest, floating across the cavern floor. It skimmed over a puddle, leaving ripples in its wake and a trail of steam rising towards a ceiling that was now too far away to see.

The ball began to glow as it approached the heroes. If there's one thing these teenagers have learned during their travels, it's that if something starts to glow, it's about to do something. Almost simultaneously, Isaac and Felix both shouted "Scatter!" They didn't need to, though, as the group had already started running in different directions.

The red ball only picked up speed and glowed brighter, now smoking slightly and emitting a faint humming sound. When it reached the center of the dispersing group, the ball turned white and exploded, sending the heroes flying to the far reaches of the room. The shockwave from the blast caused the torches to flicker and created ripples in the water; it even shook the floating platform Kraden stood on, forcing him to drop to his knees to keep his balance. The noise from the explosion echoed throughout the room for a time, but eventually faded to a faint ringing.

Felix stood and rubbed his head, making sure his body was still in working order. _Arms: still attached. Legs: good to go._ "Is everyone okay?"

"I think so." Mia said as she helped Jenna out of a puddle. "But just to be on the safe side..." She then cast Wish, shrouding the entire party in a faint aura of healing Psynergy.

Piers licked his finger before pinching a small flame burning up a piece of his hair. "Well, at least we know what the _red_ one does."

"I call them Anger Balls," the Star Magician explained. He then began to glow, as did the purple ball. "Now let me show you what my Thunder Balls can do."

"Not giving you the chance." Isaac aimed an open palm at the Star Magician. "Grand Gaia!" The ground beneath Star Magician and his remaining three balls started breaking apart. Then, a blast of pure Venus energy erupted from the ground, leaving only the silhouettes of the enemies visible. The floor reverted to its original form as the attack ended, but the heroes were shocked to see Star Magician encased in an aura of Psynergy. Although the balls appeared to have taken a beating, the magician himself was virtually unscathed.

"Now that was rude." The magician dusted off his robe, then gestured towards the yellow-green ball, which was giving off the tell-tale signs of Psynergy. "Fortunately, my 'companions,' such as this Guardian Ball, can act independently of my will. So don't make the mistake of thinking I have to command them before they can act."

"Interesting," Kraden inched closer to the edge of his platform and adjusted his glasses to get a better look. "Out of sheer curiosity, what do you call the blue ones?"

"If I told you that, you'd be able to deduce their capabilities."

"Hmm, excellent point. Still, I noticed that your balls use the same color scheme as the four elements, so I'd imagine the blue ones have healing properties. Cure Balls, perhaps?"

"Refresh Balls, actually."

"Umm, excuse me?" Garet unsheathed his sword and spun it in his hand - nearly losing his grip, though he'd never admit it. "I thought you wanted to fight."

"Ah, yes. My apologies." The Star Magician's handheld ball began to glow again, and two more Anger Balls appeared before him.

Ivan nearly dropped his weapon when he saw this. "Aw, man. You mean he can just keep summoning _more!?_"

"As many as I need to." Star Magician gestured towards the largest concentrations of Adepts: Isaac, Jenna, and Mia in one area; Piers, Felix, and Sheba in another. Each of the Anger Balls barreled towards one of the groups, but this time the Adepts knew what was coming.

The two groups scattered, except for Isaac and Piers. Piers cast Diamond Berg, creating a giant block of ice that fell on and encased the Anger Ball. This did not stop the ball from glowing brighter, though, and it still exploded, scattering shards of ice throughout the area. Isaac met similar results when he cast Odyssey. Beside him a pair of blue, translucent swords made from pure Psynergy materialized and flew towards the oncoming enemy. The two swords pierced the Anger Ball, immobilizing it. The red ball simply continued to glow as it completed its purpose and exploded, this time far enough away that nobody was injured.

While Isaac and Piers worked at stopping the potentially fatal attack, Ivan and Garet saw Star Magician and his nearly-destroyed Thunder Ball preparing another spell. The two Adepts looked at each other, and Garet pointed at the Star Magician with his head. Ivan nodded his approval, and the two rushed towards the summoner. The explosion from Isaac's ball and the ice shards from Piers' spell hardly phased them, although Ivan nearly slipped on one of the shards. This let Garet pass his usually-faster friend, and the Mars Adept quickly closed in on the magician.

Before Garet reached them, Star Magician and his Thunder Ball unleashed their spells on the scattered warriors. Purple lightning rained down from the dark upper portions of the cave. Most of the bolts exploded upon hitting the ground, while others traveled the room in wide arcs, leaving burn marks in the ground to map their movement. The heroes had to focus all their energy on simply avoiding the lightning; Felix and Sheba tried hiding under Kraden's platform, but the platform simply moved out of the way, leaving the two exposed.

Garet got close enough to Star Magician that he didn't have to worry about the lightning, so he plunged his sword into the Thunder Ball. The purple sphere cracked, with sparks of Psynergy flying out of its core. Garet tried to pull his sword out, but only managed to lift the Thunder Ball from its resting spot. He noticed that the ball was losing its color so, rather than pulling it off, he swung his sword at the cavern wall, shattering the ball into dozens of pieces.

"Garet, duck!" Not waiting to find out why Ivan shouted, Garet flung himself to the ground, away from the Star Magician. He then heard Ivan shout, "_Light Surge!_" Garet looked over his shoulder and saw Star Magician bombarded with beams of light, the secret attack of Phaeton's Blade.

While Star Magician weathered the attack, Garet noticed that the Guardian Ball was glowing again. _Not this time._ Garet stood and prepared a spell of his own. "Heat Wave!" A fiery shockwave hit the yellow ball, but it continued its spell.

"Not bad," the Star Magician said. Ivan's attack had failed, and the figure now faced Garet. "But you'll have to try harder." A small red ball of energy appeared in Star Magician's free hand. He held his palm towards Garet, as though the Star Magician were going to cast a spell. Instead, the energy ball flew towards the young Adept, who stumbled back a few feet when hit. Star Magician then unleashed several more of these attacks in quick succession, but was forced to stop when he heard the other warriors attack:

"Stone Spire! Dragon Fume! Destruct Ray!"

While the Star Magician prepared to defend itself, Ivan grabbed Garet and pulled him out of the line of fire. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Garet rubbed his chest. _Man, that really hurt!_ His armor absorbed some of the attack, but not all of it. "But we're never going to beat him unless we take out those defensive balls."

Ivan nodded towards the Star Magician, and Garet turned to look. The magician just stood there, his attention focused on holding off three spells at once: bolts of lightning struck the magician, but to no noticeable effect; stalactites fell from the dark heights of the cave, only to shatter as they hit the magician's aura; a dragon-shaped plume of fire circled the magician, striking and bouncing off him from several angles. Garet quickly saw that all this was just a diversion. Two figures - Isaac and Piers - snuck behind Star Magician while he was distracted by the attacks of Felix, Jenna, and Sheba.

"There, that should do it." Garet turned and saw Mia standing next to him and Ivan, the faint glow around her fading away. It was then Garet noticed that the pain in his chest was gone.

Garet rubbed his chest. "Uh, thanks." _She must have been healing me, and I didn't even notice._

"D-don't mention it." Mia began blushing, but quickly chastised herself for it. _Now's not the time to be thinking about that! We still have to beat this-_

"Aaarrgh!" A nearly-ethereal cry brought Mia out of her reverie. An explosion engulfed the Star Magician, and Isaac and Piers could be seen running along the wall away from him.

Isaac called out to the rest of the team. "I think it worked!"

"What worked?" Garet asked to the team in general.

"Our attack was more than just a distraction." Felix walked towards Garet, but kept his attention on the smoke left from the explosion. "Isaac and Piers destroyed that guardian-thing, then our spells took out the magician. I hope."

The team reconvened in the center of the room, being careful not to group too closely together (just in case another Anger Ball attacked), and waited for the smoke to clear. They didn't have to wait long, as the Star Magician dispelled the smoke with a burst of wind. He finally appeared to be feeling the effects of the battle; his robes were singed in places, his free hand clutched its side, and he appeared to be short of breath. The magician wasn't alone, though: the Refresh Ball started to glow, and Star Magician's injuries faded. Soon he was as good as new, as if they hadn't even attacked in the first place.

Isaac swore. "Forgot about the healing ball."

"It would seem I have underestimated you." Star Magician raised its handheld ball, which started glowing. "Either that, or I'm out of practice." The ball grew brighter, and the magician's voice echoed throughout the room. "Either way, you will now face my full power."

The heroes had to shield their eyes from the light as it grew in intensity. When they were finally able to see again, they saw the magician surrounded by several dozen brand-new balls.

"O-oh my!" Kraden took off his glasses and cleaned them on his robe. When he put them back on, he started counting the spheres filling up about one-third of the room. "Let's see, there's about...two Guardians, two Refreshers…"

"And a bunch of everything else," Piers said as he cast Megacool. Shafts of ice formed from the water between the heroes and Star Magician's miniature army. The ice shot out in every direction, interlocking to form a kind of fence, several yards high. "Don't know how long that will hold them." Piers shot the team leaders an inquisitive look. "Any ideas?"

Isaac looked through the ice wall. There were at least half a dozen Thunder Balls and over twice that many Anger Balls. The Anger Balls patrolled Piers' wall, attacking occasionally, perhaps looking for a weak spot. "We have to stop Star Magician, or these things will just keep on coming."

"Easier said than done," Felix said. "If we focus on him, those balls will tear us to shreds."

Isaac chuckled. "Divide and conquer, then?"

Felix nodded. "Alright. My team will hold off the army..."

The earth Adept let his sentence trail off when he saw how the balls were moving. Most were pulling back to the outer edges of the arena, save for a single Anger Ball. This ball sat right by the ice wall, just opposite the heroes, and started glowing brightly.

Isaac picked up Felix's train of thought. "...While we take down the general! LET'S MOVE!!!"

The Anger Ball exploded, shattering the bulk of the ice. Many sharp ice shards hurtled towards the heroes, but Ivan and Sheba both cast Resist. A purple aura appeared around the heroes, protecting them from the flying ice as they rushed through the newly-made opening. As they entered Star Magician's half of the arena, the Thunder and Anger Balls lined up along the walls quickly converged on the group of Adepts. A Mars Djinni, Coal, appeared next to Jenna and sprinkled a Psynergetic dust on the team, allowing them to run faster. Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia rushed straight ahead, their only goal being to stop Star Magician. Of course, there were several balls between them and the summoner.

"Make an opening!" Felix shouted as he cast Mother Gaia. Piers prepared his own spell, Supercool, while the balls were ravaged by raw Venus energy. Just as Felix's attack ended, icicles shot out of the puddles, skewering the balls that survived. While Felix and Piers handled the balls guarding Star Magician, Jenna and Sheba cast Psynergies of their own to hold off the remaining balls, which approached them from the sides. In total, six balls were destroyed by Piers and Felix's joint attack. The remains of the balls disintegrated as Isaac's team ran past them, closing the distance between themselves and Star Magician. That task completed, Felix's team turned their attention to the group of balls that now surrounded them.

Ivan was the first to reach Star Magician, who was accompanied only by his Guardian and Refresh Balls. Knowing better than to attack the magician directly, Ivan leapt past him and slashed at one of the Guardian Balls. A bolt of lightning appeared when his sword connected with the ball, and a Jupiter Djinni, Squall, emerged from the blade.

Isaac leaped into the air, lowering his blade on Star Magician. The magician used his personal ball, coupled with an aura from the remaining Guardian Ball, to parry the attack. Isaac regained his balance and began another attack. "You guys follow Ivan's lead!" he called over his shoulders. "I'll keep him from summoning any more!"

Garet ran towards one of the Refresh Balls. "Alright, but first: Forge! Corona!" Two Mars Djinn appeared next to Garet and cast their spells over the four-man team, improving their natural strength and endurance. Garet then slashed downwards, knocking the Refresh Ball into the wall behind it. He followed up by casting Heat Wave, shattering the blue sphere.

Ivan focused on the other Guardian Ball. Even after several strikes with his sword, the ball still stood. Changing tactics, Ivan lifted the ball into the air with a Whirlwind, then cast Plasma. A bolt of lightning struck the Guardian Ball, which fell straight to the ground and shattered.

Isaac, meanwhile, was fighting a losing battle. After several more parries, Star Magician fired several red energy balls, forcing Isaac to back away and catch his breath. He then noticed energy gathering in the magician's hand, far more than was used for the previous attack. The energy formed a sphere, about as large as the balls Star Magician kept summoning. The sphere crackled with energy, and the magician aimed the sphere at Isaac.

"_Mine Ball._" With those words, the ball of energy shot from the magician's hands and hurtled towards the Venusian warrior. Rather than striking him directly, though, the ball exploded just in front of Isaac. The force of the explosion sent Isaac flying a short distance. He would have gone farther if the cavern wall hadn't stopped him.

"Isaac!" Ivan and Garet had just finished off the second Refresh Ball when they heard Mia shout. They saw the healer rush over to their battered friend. Isaac clothes were torn and blood-soaked in places, and his face was slightly burnt. A Mercury Djinni appeared next to Mia as she bent over Isaac's unconscious body. "Give me a hand, Fizz. I don't think I can do this on my own."

"Oh, _now_ you've done it!" Star Magician turned to see Garet and Ivan walking towards him. Garet pointed at the magician with his sword. "Isaac and I go _way _back. Anybody who messes with him answers to _me!_"

The magician summoned two more Thunder Balls. "Then come, if you can."

Ivan prepared to cast a spell, but Garet put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll take care of the small fries. You just keep him from summoning more."

"A-are you sure?"

"There's no time to argue!" Garet pointed at Star Magician, whose handheld ball was once again glowing. "He's already started!"

"Right!" Ivan ran around the two purple spheres to engage their summoner. The animated balls turned to follow Ivan, unaware that Garet had begun a new spell. The ground beneath the Thunder Balls began to crack, then flew apart as two fountains of magma erupted, ravaging the balls. As soon as the flow of molten rock stopped, Garet rushed forward and slashed at one of the balls, then cast Heat Wave on the other. The second ball was forced into the group of balls Felix's team was holding off. Although it survived Garet's attack, the explosion from a nearby Anger Ball finished it off.

With that ball destroyed, Garet left to help Ivan fight Star Magician, unaware that the first Thunder Ball survived and was preparing a spell. Fortunately, his Djinn _did _spot the spare ball and decided to act. Forge began by tackling the ball, interrupting its Psynergy. Corona then cast Flare Storm, shrouding the Thunder Ball in flames. The ball still stood after the flames dissipated, so Forge hit it with a roundhouse kick (or at least the closest a Djinni can come to one). This attack pushed the Thunder Ball into the wall, shattering it.

"We _totally _rock," Corona said.

"Not now," Forge replied. "The others still need our help."

While Garet was fighting the Thunder Balls, Ivan was doing surprisingly well against the Star Magician. Perhaps because Ivan was more agile, or because the Guardian Balls were destroyed. Either way, Ivan's blade cut a hole in Star Magician's cloak, only sparing the magician himself because the cloak made it hard to distinguish his physique. Star Magician countered by casting a weakened Megacool; ice formed beneath Ivan's feet, causing him to slip. While Ivan was sprawled on the floor, trying to reclaim his footing, Star Magician prepared to cast Spark Plasma. He was interrupted, though, when Garet joined the fray.

"Yaah!" Garet swung his sword in a wide arc, seemingly aimlessly. In reality, though, he was aiming for the magician's primary ball, the one that glowed every time Star Magician cast a spell of summoned another minion. Technically, Garet's attack missed, but it did manage to disrupt Star Magician's concentration, sparing Ivan from becoming a living lightning rod.

-*-*-*-

Kraden looked upon the fight from across the room, on the other side of Piers' ice wall (or what remained of it, at least), safely away from the combat. The scholar was still kneeling on the floating platform Star Magician had made for him. He tentatively stood up, unsure that the platform would remain steady if he moved. The platform was stable, so the scholar relaxed and silently assessed the situation. He decided it was time to help when he noticed Garet and Ivan desperately fighting the magician.

"Garet!" Kraden called. "Try to destroy the ball he's holding! That seems to be the source of his power, or at least what he uses to channel it!"

"What do you *haah!* think I'm *argh* trying to *yah!* do!?"

"Oh, er, yes. Well, very good then! Keep up the splendid work!" _Well now I _really_ feel useless._

-*-*-*-

Ivan feinted left, then right, then left again (the ice on the ground had long since melted). His only goal was to distract Star Magician until Garet got back into the fight. Garet meanwhile, was trying to dislodge his sword from the ice block the magician had just created.

"Well screw this," Garet said as he finally gave up. He turned to face Ivan and the magician, and, keeping one hand on the hilt of his blade - _Just in case_ - prepared a new spell. "Ivan, duck!" Garet unleashed his attack as the wind Adept rolled away from Star Magician. "_Liquifier!_"

Over a dozen bright yellow streaks of pure Mars Psynergy shot straight into the air from Garet's open palm. Star Magician noticed this, and began to summon a Guardian Ball. His summon was interrupted when several Psynergetic swords pierced the arm that held his ball. The swords didn't cause any harm, but they kept him from moving his arm, or even channeling any Psynergy through it.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Star Magician exclaimed. Although the magician was reasonably confused, Garet and Ivan had seen this technique several times before. It was the beginning of Odyssey, Isaac and Felix's strongest attack.

Garet looked over his shoulder and saw Isaac, still badly beaten but conscious. The Venus Adept had one arm slung over Mia's shoulder, likely the only thing that kept him standing, and a Mercury Djinni, Fizz, sitting between them. Isaac's other arm was outstretched, Psynergy flowing through it to maintain his spell.

"I've got him," Isaac panted. "Hurry!"

"Right!" Garet said, then returned his attention to Star Magician. _I'm surprised I kept Liquifier in the air so long._ "Wait, I've got an idea." Before his spell began its descent, Garet gave it a few quick mental commands, altering the attack's path just ever-so-slightly.

As the fiery bolts plummeted to the ground, they converged on Star Magician - which they would have done, anyways. But rather than striking his general area, like Liquifier normally does, the bolts focused on a single point: the Star Magician's primary ball, held in place by Isaac's swords. Each bolt passed through the ball, leaving burn marks where they entered and left. The combined force of all the bolts caused the ball to begin humming and to glow a bright white color.

"No!" Star Magician cried as the ball began to crack, releasing bright streams of light as it did so. Soon the ball exploded, nearly engulfing the magician.

While the magician was distracted, Ivan and Garet ran over to check on Isaac. Garet, of course, refused to let go of his new sword, and wound up dragging the entire block of ice with him.

"Are you alright?" Ivan asked.

Isaac cast Cure on himself, although to no noticeable effect. "I'll be fine. I just hope this means we've won."

The quartet was interrupted by an explosion, followed closely by a shriek. They turned and saw Jenna flying towards them, having just been caught on the outskirts of an Anger Ball's blast. Both Isaac and Garet cast spells to save her: a pair of Psynergetic hands caught Jenna before she hit the wall, and lowered her safely to the ground.

"Ugh, thanks." Jenna said as she walked towards the team, dusting off her skirt. "We're just about done with the little guys. Need help with the ringleader?"

"Looks like we might," Mia said, having the best view of Star Magician. The others turned and saw that the magician was still standing, just not in the best of shape. He appeared to be panting, and his robe was covered in ashes; especially his left side, having caught the brunt of the blast. The hand which once held his ball now hung limply at his side, with his other arm clutching it in pain. The ball itself was now just a pile of grey shards on the floor.

"I must say, I'm impressed you've made it this far," Star Magician said as he began to glow. "However, don't think you've won just yet!" The water at the magician's feet froze as the air around him rapidly dropped in temperature. Sparks could be seen arcing between the folds in his robes. "Now, face the full wrath of the guardian of water!"

The aura of cold air expanded as the magician's Psynergy grew stronger. The five Adepts, however, weren't daunted. Isaac cast Odyssey again, this time generating six intangible swords. The ghostly blades pierced Star Magician from top to bottom, effectively freezing him in place.

"If he's 'the guardian of water,' " Isaac said, "then he's probably weak to fire-based attacks." He looked at Jenna and Garet, both of whom kept their eyes trained on the magician. "I'll leave the rest up to you two. Hit him with everything you've got!"

"No problem," Garet said, a smirk creeping across his face. "After a day like today, I've been itching for a chance to let all this aggression loose." He tightened his grip on the hilt of his still-frozen blade, unaware that it was giving off a faint glow. "Forge! Corona!"

"Right here!" one of the Mars Djinn said as they both leapt inside their partner, increasing the strength of his Psynergy.

While Garet's Djinn were in transit, Jenna had already begun her attack. "Dragon Fume!" A large dragon-shaped plume of fire arced from the young Mars Adept to Star Magician. Each time it hit the magician, it circled around for another strike.

With the magician preoccupied, Garet prepared a spell of his own. "All right, here goes everything! LIQUI-huh!?" At this point, Garet's sword was glowing so brightly that it was almost impossible _not_ to notice. Before anyone could comment, the sword burst into flames, shattering the block of ice it was trapped in.

"Woah..." Garet turned his sword over in his hand, inspecting it closely. The blade was sheathed in a veil of fire, but no matter how he held it, the fire didn't travel past the hilt.

"Um, Garet?" Isaac's voice sounded strained. "In case you forgot, I can only hold off Odyssey's _main_ attack for so long. So hurry!"

"Uh, right." A bit embarrassed but no less determined, Garet twirled the now-enflamed blade in his hand. When the sword was positioned hilt-up, Garet grabbed it with both hands and plunged the blade into the ground. As he did so, he shouted in a voice that seemed to come as much from the weapon as from him: "_PURGATORY!!!_"

The flames wrapped around the blade disappeared through the crack in the ground Garet had just made. At about this time, Jenna's spell made one final arc and crashed into the magician from above. The smoke quickly dissipated, revealing a badly beat but still standing Star Magician. At this point, all eyes were on Garet, still crouched and gripping his blade.

"Umm, Garet?" Jenna said. "Nothing's happe-"

"Shhh!" Garet hushed his fellow fire Adept. "It's a little slow from disuse, but it's almost there..."

"I think I see it," Ivan said as he pointed at the ground. The field of ice was quickly melting, but only in a straight line between them and the magician.

Psynergy particles were converging on Isaac, who was straining to hold back his attack. "Running out of time, Garet!"

"Almost..." Garet was watching the ice, the trail of heat almost under the magician. "There!"

As Garet said this, a stream of fire shot out of the ground beneath Star Magician. Though small at first, the stream quickly expanded into a pillar, completely engulfing the magician. His ghastly wails echoed throughout the chamber as his body was wracked by the ancient flames. Just as quickly as it started, the pillar of fire collapsed and disappeared beneath the ground once again. The Star Magician remained standing, but only due to Isaac's spell. As the Venus Adept cancelled his spell, the magician fell to the ground, defeated by the combined power of the two Mars Adepts.

"That was _awesome!_" Sheba said as she knocked aside one of the many balls she and her comrades defeated. The arena was littered with the remains of "dead" Thunder and Anger Balls - those that didn't explode, that is. Felix and Piers were digging a pair of Djinn out of a pile of balls, while Sheba waved the other warriors over to her position.

The Mars Adepts and the rest of Isaac's team trudged over to where Felix, Sheba, and Piers waited, closer to the center of the arena. Kraden also walked towards them, his platform having collapsed as soon as Star Magician's main ball was destroyed. The scholar was dusting his robes off, silently chastising himself for not considering that possibility, when he noticed movement on the far side of the room.

"Uhm, excuse me," Kraden tried to muscle his way into the crowd of Adepts who were already celebrating another victory. "I, uh, I hate to put a damper on everyone's mood, but, well..." The elder pointed towards where Star Magician was laying. The eight warriors turned to follow his gesture, and eight jaws dropped to the ground when they saw what Kraden did. The magician was on one knee, then rose to his feet. His robes were still singed, and even charred black in places. He kept his face down, but he turned to face the heroes and threw his hands out to either side.

"Skilled _and_ cunning. I must say, I'm impressed. Truly, I am." Star Magician began glowing, faintly at first, although it quickly grew in intensity. "I see now how you defeated Valukar. Perhaps you have what it takes to wield the power of Azul." Two large balls of energy appeared in the magician's hands. These balls then split into dozens of smaller spheres, which scattered around the magician. "But first, I wish to test the true limits of your power." The many energy balls touched the ground, transforming into Thunder, Guardian, Anger, and Refresh Balls. As the Adepts looked on in shock, Star Magician raised his head to look them in the eyes. "_We have reached the grand finale! Hold nothing back!!!_"

Jenna was the first to speak: "This. Is. _Ridiculous!_ We barely survived _one_ wave!"

"And _I_ thought he was helpless without his main ball," Ivan added.

With the rest of the team on the verge of panic, Isaac stepped forward and faced his friends. "C'mon, guys. He _did_ say 'hold nothing back.' That was an invitation." He pointed to one of their Mars Djinn, which was hovering near his shoulder. "It would be rude to decline, wouldn't it?"

The group's despair quickly made way for excitement. "Heh. No room for Daedalus, though," Felix said.

"Or Meteor," Jenna added.

"So," Garet asked, "Tiamat, Maegara, or Ulysses?"

"Why not all three?" Sheba added, bringing out one of her Jupiter Djinn. At this suggestion, Mia and Piers each called over a Mercury Djinni already floating about the arena.

"All right, then." Garet returned his attention to the Star Magician's new army. He and Jenna both produced several Mars Djinn. Djinn of all elements flew upwards and converged at a single point, creating a bright burst of light as beings from another plane were summoned to Weyard. "Let's party!"

-*-*-*-

When the heroes finally returned to the surface, the sea was dyed many shades of yellow and red from the setting sun. The nine travelers trudged back to the beach, but stopped to admire the view rather than boarding their ship. Mia and Kraden sat on a piece of driftwood, while Ivan and Sheba sat in the sand for a quick snack. Sheba was half-asleep and leaning on Felix's shoulder.

Mia let out a sigh. "A perfect end to a not-so-perfect day."

"Oh, it wasn't _that_ bad." Piers said.

"Oh, really?" Ivan asked between bites. "Garet nearly drowned, I got ambushed by a Mimic, and we had to fight through an army of animated orbs."

"True, but we found plenty of treasure and another Djinni, Garet got a new toy, _and_ we have another summon."

"What if there's more?" Everyone looked at Felix when he said this.

"More what?" Garet asked. "Treasure? I think we got it all."

Isaac was the only one still looking out to sea. "No. I was thinking about it, too. First we won Daedalus from 'Valukar, guardian of fire.' Now we find 'Star Magician, guardian of water,' and we got..." He turned to look at Piers, "what's this one called, again?"

"Azul," Piers said, "and I think I see where you're going."

"Well, _I_ don't," Garet said.

"Which isn't saying much," Ivan added, which was followed by a stifled giggle from Sheba.

"Go easy on him," Jenna said. "Besides, I'm not following, either."

Kraden let out a hearty laugh. "It's quite simple, really. There are four elements, and we've defeated the self-proclaimed guardians of two. They seemed to know each other..."

"So there's probably two more 'guardians' out there, somewhere." Felix finished for the elder.

"And we barely survived fighting _those_ two..." Mia said.

That last comment ruined everyone's mood, until Isaac remembered his conversation with Garet earlier. "By the way, Garet, you really pulled through for us back there."

"Yeah," Ivan added. "I'd probably be toast if you hadn't been there."

Garet rubbed the back of his neck. "Meh, it was nothing special..."

"Well, if you say so," Sheba said. "Although I gotta admit, that fight actually makes up for what happened in Yampi."

Felix shot her a dirty look. "Sheba, I thought we talked about this."

"Right, right. Sorry." The wind Adept gave Mia a knowing look. "Besides, I think I found something to tease Mia about now, so I think we can forget about that 'Yampi incident' for now."

"Yeah, that's probably for the-" Mia suddenly realized what Sheba was talking about. "Wait, what!? No! Not _that!_"

Sheba giggled. "Relax, I promised I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Wouldn't tell us what?" Jenna asked, looking at Mia.

The Mercury Adept quickly started blushing again. "Ah, w-well, I... That is, I-I just..."

Sheba saved Mia by breaking into the conversation. "A promise is a promise. You'll never know."

"I wasn't asking _you_." Jenna shot back, which only got a raspberry in reply.

As the rest of the group started arguing, Garet's thoughts meandered through the day's events - with his Djinn providing a commentary.

_You saved Mia's life. _That's_ something, right?_

_"Well, yeah..."_

_I think she likes you._

_"Yea- wait, what?"_

_Ignore Torch. I think Isaac was right. That Star Magician guy was pretty tough. The others might not have won if you weren't there._

_Maybe. Who can say?_

_You're not helping, Scorch!_

_"No, he's right. We'll never know for sure."_

_But-_

_"Still, it's nice to know I was able to help. There may not be anything truly 'special' about me, but I'm important to my friends, which is more than good enough."_

-*-*-*-

Author's comments:

Whew! Over a month since the last chapter, and I _finally_ get this up! (Stupid "real life," getting in the way of my fantasies grumblegrumble)

Obviously, this chapter focused more on combat than the relationships between the heroes. Then again, I mentioned in one of the earlier chapters that this fic was originally meant to focus on combat. I think I like it better with the pseudo-romance (which is saying something, because I'm not a big romance fan), but I still needed to include this extended fight scene or the story just wouldn't feel complete.

Well, I think this story turned out well, considering it was both my first fanfic _and_ just a warm-up for a (much) longer fic I hope to begin soon. Before I do, though, I want to do a couple more warm ups. I have four different stories I'd like to do, but I might only write two of them so I can get started on my _main_ story sooner (I plan to do them all eventually). If you liked Nothing Special, you might like these other stories, too. Oh, and the rest of the warm ups should be one-shots, so you won't have to worry about long gaps between chapters... Well, actually, I've already started the next story, and it looks like it _might_ become a two-parter.

Note to self: next time you have a multi-chapter "buffer zone," upload them every _other_ week.


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